mulberry

mulberry (Morus alba)
non-native
photos taken in june

this is some variety of black-fruited white mulberry (also called "common mulberry") and not a black mulberry; black mulberry leaves apparently have hairy undersides. the mulberry is widely cultivated and has a lot of varieties, so i'm not one hundred percent sure which one is exactly right.
these trees are famously the home & food of choice for silkworms; it has been cultivated across china for thousands of years for silk production. it was initially brought to the us in the hopes of doing silk production here as well, but it never took off. we still have the trees though! it's a reasonably nice ornamental tree, and definitely brings in a lot of animals with its berries. the squirrels especially seem to be adoring them.
the white mulberry also boasts having the fastest known movement in the plant world - when it launches pollen, it launches it at 380 miles per hour! i wonder why? it seems a bit much.

mulberries fruit in the summertime.