Taxon: Morus rubra L.

Summary

Genus:

Morus

Family:

Moraceae

Tribe:

Moreae

Nomen number:

24621

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:986. 1753

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/359007

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

05/23/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

12 (9 active, 6 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature
Burgess, K. S, & B. C. Husband. 2006. Habitat differentiation and the ecological costs of hybridization: the effects of introduced mulberry (Morus alba) on a native congener (M. rubra). J. Ecol. 94:1061-1069. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01152.x.
Burgess, K. S, et al. 2005. Asymmetrical introgression between two Morus species (M. alba, M. rubra) that differ in abundance. Molec. Ecol. 14:3471-3483. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02670.x.
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Eilers, L. J. & D. M. Roosa. 1994. The vascular plants of Iowa
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Krüssmann, G. 1984. Manual of cultivated broad-leaved trees and shrubs (English translation of Handbuch der Laubgehölze. 1976)
Little, E. L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees, Agric. Handb. 541
Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Nepal, M. P. & C. J. Ferguson. 2012. Phylogenetics of Morus (Moraceae) inferred from ITS and trnL-trnF sequence data. Syst. Bot. 37:442-450. DOI: 10.1600/036364412X635485. Note: resolved sister to Morus celtidifolia - M. microphylla
Ownbey, G. B. & T. Morley. 1991. Vascular plants of Minnesota: a checklist and atlas
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Radford, A. E. et al. 1964. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Seymour, F. 1969. The flora of New England.
Smith, E. B. 1978. An atlas and annotated list of the vascular plants of Arkansas
Steyermark, J. A. 1977. Flora of Missouri.
Strausbaugh, T. D. & E. L. Core. 1978. Flora of West Virginia, ed. 2.
Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.
Wherry, E. T. et al. 1979. Atlas of the flora of Pennsylvania.
Wofford, B. E. Database of Tennessee vascular plants (on-line resource).
2018. Oklahoma vascular plant database

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	red mulberry	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
French	mûrier rouge	2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
German	roter Maulbeerbaum	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	moral rojo	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	rött mullbär	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario	s.e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Iowa		Eilers, L. J. & D. M. Roosa. 1994. The vascular plants of Iowa
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas	e. & c.	McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Minnesota	s.e.	Ownbey, G. B. & T. Morley. 1991. Vascular plants of Minnesota: a checklist and atlas
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri		Steyermark, J. A. 1977. Flora of Missouri.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Nebraska	e. & c.	McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Oklahoma		McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts	w.	Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan	s.	Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania	e. & s.	Wherry, E. T. et al. 1979. Atlas of the flora of Pennsylvania.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island	n.	Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont	s.	Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	West Virginia		Strausbaugh, T. D. & E. L. Core. 1978. Flora of West Virginia, ed. 2.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		Smith, E. B. 1978. An atlas and annotated list of the vascular plants of Arkansas
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	District of Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Kentucky		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina		Radford, A. E. et al. 1964. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		Radford, A. E. et al. 1964. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	New Mexico		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.

Native
Northern America

EASTERN CANADA: Canada [Ontario (s.e.)]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts (w.), Michigan (s.), New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania (e. & s.), Rhode Island (n.), Vermont (s.), West Virginia]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (e. & c.), Minnesota (s.e.), Missouri, Nebraska (e. & c.), Oklahoma, Wisconsin]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]

Naturalized
Northern America

SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico]

Reference(s)

Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Eilers, L. J. & D. M. Roosa. 1994. The vascular plants of Iowa
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Ownbey, G. B. & T. Morley. 1991. Vascular plants of Minnesota: a checklist and atlas
Radford, A. E. et al. 1964. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas.
Smith, E. B. 1978. An atlas and annotated list of the vascular plants of Arkansas
Steyermark, J. A. 1977. Flora of Missouri.
Strausbaugh, T. D. & E. L. Core. 1978. Flora of West Virginia, ed. 2.
Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
Wherry, E. T. et al. 1979. Atlas of the flora of Pennsylvania.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Human food	fruit		Krüssmann, G. 1984. Manual of cultivated broad-leaved trees and shrubs (English translation of Handbuch der Laubgehölze. 1976)
Materials	wood	timber	Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=24621. Accessed 14 April 2026.