Virginia Tech Dendrology

Texas mulberry Moraceae Morus microphylla Buckley symbol: MOMI
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous to tardily deciduous, orbicular or cordate, to 2 1/2 inches long with a coarsely serrate (or toothed) margin, either 3-lobed or unlobed, green above and paler below, scabrous on both surfaces.
Flower: Species is dioecious; small, green catkins, male flowers narrow, 3/4 inch long; female flowers plump, 1/4 inch long, spring.
Fruit: Round and blackberry-like, 1/2 inch, fleshy multiple of drupes, red to purple, maturing in early to mid-summer, sour but edible.
Twig: Slender, zigzag, gray-brown, pubescent, buds reddish brown with numerous scales and pointed, leaf scar sunken oval with bundle scars in a ring.
Bark: Initially smooth and gray, becoming warty then scaly.
Form: A small tree or large shrub to 25 feet tall and of equal spread.
Looks like: red mulberry - white mulberry - netleaf hackberry

Additional Range Information: Morus microphylla is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information