My relative had some storm damage to a huge mulberry tree, had it cut up and now has some 18″ logs laying in the yard. I looked’em over and did’t even see an ant hole. Is mulberry worth anything other than fire wood? The logs are nearly perfect and I thought I’d check.
Thanks, Allen
Replies
I believe it is. I'm trying to recall what species I saw in a store once with a hefty price tag. I'm thinking that may have been mulberry. If it was, the owner said it was primarily of use to turners. Have no fear, those with better memories are sure to be along shortly . . .
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
allen, our native red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a very popular wood among turners. It has a bright yellow color which eventually develops a rich amber, long term patina. Anatomically, mulberry produces a sort of zig-zag pore pattern (concentric, saw-tooth or chevron shaped bands of pores), so it's fugure is exceptionally stunning...especially on a curved surface.
The Oriental white mulberry (Morus alba) was introduced a couple of centuries ago in an attempt to establish the silk industry here (The leaves of white mulberry are the favorite food of silk worms.) This allien species is now a common tree in the Mid Atlantic and southeastern states. If this is the species you are referring to, it has a similar figure to our red mulberry, but is usually creamy white in color, as opposed to vivid yellow. Both species have good shaping properties. They are moderately dense woods, but not difficult to work.
Jon and RW, Thanks for the replies........now we have to figure out what to do with that log!
Hi Jon, I have a large Mulberry that has only been referred to as "fruitless Mulberry". Is this a red or white Mulberry? I live in central California (San Joaquin Valley). Any info would be appreciated. Brian
Brian, I'm unaware of a mulberry that is actually "fruitless"...but aside from our native red mulberry (also a similar Texas mulberry; Morus microphylla) and the introduced white mulberry, there is another exotic mulberry that was brought over here from Asia for use as an ornimental. It's called Paper mulberry, because its bark is used for paper making in the Orient. You see it more often out in the eastern states, but it's drought resistant enough to grow just about any place.
It's a mulberry, despite the fact that it's placed in a different genus...It goes by the scientific name of; Broussonetia papyrifera. If you have a good tree reference, look up this name and see if it describes what you have. The fruit of this species is more of an orange color and round in shape...not like the juicey, delicious fruit of our native red mulberry, or the commercial, Old World black mulberry.
Edited 6/29/2003 6:17:28 AM ET by Jon Arno
A non sequitor, but pertinent:
2 cups of fresh mulberries
1 pint of Vodka
1/2 pint of water
1 cup sugar
Put in a jar in the fridge for one month. Shake once or twice a week. Strain the fruit out and decant into a bottle. It is an excellent liquer. Serve it in little glasses after an elegant dinner.
Frank
Frank, that mulberry recipe sounds like a real winner! Very similar to a genuine, heirloom recipe dating from Colonial times...So the story goes, it was sort of a legacy of the triangular slave trade when New England slavers were paid off in rum and/or molasses upon delivering the slaves to the sugar plantations down in the islands.
They'd come back to New England loaded to the gunwales with crude but high octane spirits and sticky black syrup...which they "refined" by blending the two and pouring this concoction into a jar filled with crushed wild black cherries. After a respectable week or two of aging, it was decanted off as a sipping liqueur that went by the delightful name of "cherry bounce."...Wonder what they used for aspirin the next morning (?) Aspirin wasn't discovered until sometime in the 1890s, I think...So, they musta just chewed on a willow twig. :O)
Edited 6/29/2003 10:37:03 PM ET by Jon Arno
Edited 6/29/2003 11:04:28 PM ET by Jon Arno
John,
It is a custom in Italy to serve cordials after dinner. They can be done with fruit or with aromatic extracts. Grandad showed me how this was done. He was born in 1899. So I guess you are correct and this is a very old thing.
By the way, there are medicinal uses of Cherry bark (cough suppressant).
Frank
Jon, It is my impression that mulberry trees separate the sexes, and that only female trees have fruit. I have turned mulberry, with pleasing results.
Tomhigby
The "seedless" mulberry is nothing more than a male mulberry.
Enjoy,
Dale
Dale, your post made me curious about which mulberry species were dioecious, or if all of them are (?)...Anyway, I still haven't found the answer to that question...but in my copy of Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia I ran across something that might help Brian. It mentions a cultivar of the white mulberry (Morus alba) called "kingan." The description reads as follows:
"KINGAN - with leathery, lustrous leaves, fruitless, drought resistant and often used in seashore plantings."
...Now, if that just doesn't have California written all over it.
Hi Jon,
I just know the red mulberry, M. rubra is dioecious, having separate male and female trees. Don't claim to know about M. alba or other mulberries. Sorry for not being of any further help....Dale
Hi Jon, Kingan huh? Sounds perfect. Huge leaves,large and leathery, and extreamly fast growing. Most folks around here prune then all the way back to the "knobs". Great shade tree for this area where it gets very hot in the summer. Thanks for the info. Brian
The logs would make good Bow Staves if they clear - Very similar to Osage Orange hard dense springy tough. A good split out Osage bow stave sells for $100. 2 X 2 x 6ft. long
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