Tree or Weed? A Friend Needs Helpl

[MarcP]

A friend in Ontario sent me these photos to see if I knew anyone who might identify the plant. She says it was about five feet tall before her husband chopped it down, leaving a stump about one inch around and three feet tall. Instead of dying, it flourished with a healthy ball of leaves. She doesn't know if it's a tree or a weed. Any ideas?

[DoubleDogFarm]

Marc,
I sent you a PM 2 days ago.

This tree maybe a Red Mulberry.
http://www.meridian.k12.il.us/middle%20 ... berry.html


Eric

[!potatoes!]

yep, mulberry of some kind, for sure.

[tomc]

Looks mulberry-ish to me too.

[MarcP]

I agree with you. After looking up mulberry photos, I'm sure that's what it is. She was very happy to find out and thanks everyone who helped. She lives in Ontario and I read that red mulberry is scarce there because it is hybridizing with white.

[ccar2000]

yep, mulberry of some kind, for sure.

+1

[benali]

Definitely some kind of mulberry. Keyed, slightly irregular leaves and spikey growth habit of the branches give it away.

If you have a male mulberry and female within 50 or 60 feet of each other, when they mature, the female will give you millions of edible berries. Slightly, mildly sweet, great for eating, our pioneer ancestors used to plant them near their houses in the days before store-produced candy was readily available. Kids ate mulberriers instead of candy. Today nobody even knows what these trees are or why they were planted near their farmhouses.

Mulberries next to a driveway, sidewalk, or car can be kind of a mess. Millions of small, squishy berries get all over anything underneath. Mulberries are fun for the fruit, but make sure they're located in the right place! Cheers.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Now she needs a monkey and a weasel.

Eric