Mulberry Madness

On an ancient Middle Eastern battlefield, the Seleucid army is lining up its most fearsome weapons: war elephants. But before the battle, the elephants' breakfast of mulberries was spiked with booze, to get them ready for battle. Historians debate whether this was to calm their nerves or spur on a fighting mood, but you can only imagine the scene of tipsy elephants leading the charge, probably far more interested in eating more mulberries than following orders.

Mulberry induced inebriation may affect the modern forager as well. While the ripe berries are delicious and safe, their white sap and unripe green berries are mildly toxic and can cause delirium. So if you're impatient and sample too many green berries, you'll be battling a bad trip involving stomach cramps and melting bathroom walls.

So, what are mulberries (Morus spp.)? Sometimes confused for blackberries, the fruit looks similar enough to presume they're in the same family, but nope, total strangers. Blackberries grow on a ground-level bush, while mulberries grow on a bigass tree.

Mulberries aren’t even technically a berry, but a collective fruit, formed when a bunch of tiny flowers turns into a cluster of fruits stuck together.

All fruits have varieties. There's Pink Lady apples, Red not-Delicious apples. Likewise, mulberries are diverse, with variations in colour, flavour, and size.

Some varieties include:

The black mulberry, Morus nigra, which has the best flavour, and is native to the Middle East. Its fruits transition colour from green → white → red → black. They're ripe when black and soft.

Black mulberry, Morus nigra

The red mulberry, Morus rubra, is native to North America, which means it thinks it's better than the other mulberries. It's not. With a name like 'red mulberry', you'd assume the fruit would be red, but nope, its fruit also darkens to deep purple-black once ripe.

Red mulberry, Morus rubra

And then there's the white mulberry, Morus alba, which is native to China. It's got less berry flavour and lacks any acidic punch, but tastes mild and very sweet. In keeping with the confusing name quirks, depending on the cultivar, its ripe fruit can be nearly every colour: white, yellow, pink, red, purple or black. You know they're ripe once they're soft.

White mulberry, Morus alba

Mulberry fruit shape can also vary. While some are short and plump, others are notably long and slender. Particularly elongated varieties include the Himalayan mulberry, Morus macroura.

Himalayan mulberry, Morus macroura

For all mulberry types, the fruit is ripe when soft and delicate to handle. A ripe mulberry will fall into your hand with the slightest tug. If you have to pull it, it's not ready.

Identification can be a little trickier when there's so many varieties and cultivars, but here's some things to look for:

Mulberry ID checklist

Leaf:

Shape: Serrated edges, leaves can be either heart shaped or lobed. Sometimes both leaf shapes are present on the same tree.

Arrangement: Leaves alternate on the stem (not opposite each other).

Texture: Black mulberry leaves are rough like sandpaper. White Mulberry leaves are smooth.

Colour: Medium green, with a pale underside.

Ripe fruit:

Colour: Black, but sometimes red, white, yellow or pink.

Shape: Short or long, made of many tiny drupelets.

Season: Late spring to early summer; fruit on the same tree ripens at different times.

Growth Pattern: Unlike a blackberry, it has no central core. It hangs from green stalks, and the stem stays on the tree.

The Tree:

Shape: Black mulberries are small to medium sized trees, white mulberries can be massive! Lumpy crooked trunk, rounded crown.

So where can you find them? There's a bountiful one planted on a nature strip in Brunswick, near 883 Park Street. This one typically starts fruiting in late October and continues all November. There are plenty poking over fences onto Grantham Street, Brunswick. There's one along the Merri Creek, and several in parks across Melbourne. They are very hardy so have the ability to grow in the wild, but are more commonly planted around parks and nature strips.

With nearly all foraged fruit, you might find one poking over a suburban fence. Most people are happy for you to pick the berries to reduce their messy dropped fruit. You might notice the stains on the footpath during the fruiting season, before you even notice the tree.

Harvesting the berries can be rather messy; ripe berries are a splattering hazard. You will emerge looking less like a forager and more like a criminal, with hands completely stained blood red. Don't wear your prettiest white dress, it'll become a casualty. Wear clothes you hate, or in true Melburnian style, be boring and dress completely in black.

If you stain your clothes or hands, you might like to try rubbing an unripe green mulberry on the stain, it's rumoured to remove stains, but I haven't personally tried this on clothing.

If harvesting a tall tree, you might like to lay down a tarp, and gently tap the tree. Only the perfectly ripe fruit will fall. Keep returning to the same spot over the next few weeks as fruit continues to ripen.

The fruit is versatile and can be used to substitute any berry. Eat raw or cook up some jam, pies, crumble, muffins, cordial, or even add to a salad or red meat.

The leaves can be used to make tea which tastes similar to an English Breakfast tea. Some people eat the leaves cooked or raw, but be mindful of the quantity you eat so you don't make yourself puke.

Go off on an adventure, get stained and seize the season! Happy summer foraging.