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dottyinduncan

Can you ID this tree please?

dottyinduncan
9 years ago

Daughter is moving into a new home and this tree is in the yard. Very healthy and it has hundreds of little fruit that look like tiny blackberries on it.

Comments (7)

  • pontederia
    9 years ago

    Just looking at the leaves, I thought it may be in the populus genus (poplars), which is supported by the "little fruit that look like tiny blackberries" if this picture was taken earlier in spring, when these trees flower. I could imagine someone finding the male catkin(a type of flower cluster) to resemble a dense cluster of black berries. I've attatched a picture of a male Eastern Cottonwood(Populus Deltoides) catkin. Poplar catkins are imperfect, the male and female catkins occouring on seperate trees.

    Otherwise I would go with shaxhome's guess of Mulberry, although the leaves don't appear to be lobed.

    This post was edited by Pontederia on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 1:08

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    Whitelacey
    9 years ago

    It's a Mulberry. I have several in my yard. The fruit is delicious but put the car in the garage while it is fruiting. Blue bird bombs!

    The Mulberry is dioecious-meaning the trees are either male or female. You must have a male and female for fruit. Only the female will fruit. Mine fruits every other year.

    Linda

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago

    LOL!! The problem with mulberries is they can't make up their minds :-) Leaf shape is extremely variable even on the same tree and they can be monoecious as well as dioecious. In fact, they can change their sex in midstream.

    Not a great plant to have overhanging a driveway, walkway or patio/deck, etc., as they can be very messy. And they are by no means my favorite berry flavor, either. Personally, I'd much rather do battle with the dreaded Himalayan blackberry.

  • dottyinduncan
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I knew you guys and gals wouldn't let me down! Even with my bad photo. Thanks so much, I've never seen a Mulberry before. We had a toddler visiting yesterday who was trying to eat the fruit and his parents had a fit. Little guy loves to pick and eat strawberries, even unripe and was wanting to give these a try. I'll warn them about their white car!

  • plantknitter
    9 years ago

    On my grandmother's farm in Ohio the huge mulberry tree overhung the chicken yard and pig yard.
    Great food for them --and flavorful meat and eggs later for us.
    We ate the berries, too. I remember them being good. Wish I could find some again now to try.

  • dottyinduncan
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Daughter already hates the tree. Fruit is too small to be useful and as Whitelacy said, the blue bird bombs are nasty! Add to this, the other tree in the yard is a cherry and the birds have eaten all of the fruit on it. It's tough living in paradise, isn't it?