Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_6874.JPG-06-13-2021
Flower name (scientific): Morus alba Linnaeus PY: 1753. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) MOR-us AL-bah
Flower name (common): White Mulberry
Family name (common): Mulberry
Family name (scientific): Moraceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: The ancient Latin name for the mulberry tree, cognate with or borrowed from ancient Greek μόρον (móron).
    Specific epithet: Latin for white, with reference to the color of the fruit. This species has been cultivated as a food source for silkworms rather than the edible quality of the fruit.
Common name origin: From the color of the fruit. Mulberry comes with a very long history, originally taken from German and having several different spellings. In later times it is used to refer to various species of the genus Morus.
Flower description:
     Size: 0.2 to 0.3 inches (5 to 8 mm)
     Petal count: 0
     Color: green
     Other: flower arrangement, Spike
Plant description:
     Size: 240 to 600 inches (6 to 15 m)
     Stem hairy:
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is alternate, type is simple and lobed
     Size:
     Color:
     Hairy:
     Other: Shape: leaf, ovate (FNA), irregularly lobed or lacking lobes (IL)
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Introduced
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Uncommon
Bloom time (typical): May to June
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, woodland margins, savannas, thickets, sun or semi-shade, moist to dry.
Fruit:
Seed:
Importance to wildlife:
Similar species (if any): Morus rubra (Red Mulberry) can have a resemblance to Morus alba. The abaxial leaf surface of Morus rubra is pubescent or puberulent, and the adaxial leaf surface is covered with short stiff hairs that may feel rough to the touch, whereas the abaxial leaf surface of Morus alba is glabrous or is pubescent along main veins or in axils of major veins, and the adaxial leaf surface is glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
Ethnobotany: No recorded uses by tribes from Wisconsin. The Cherokee used this species to treat worms, and as an antidiarrheal. They also used the fruit as a food source (Moerman, p. 350, 1998).
Latitude: 44.800638
Longitude: -91.502855
Altitude: 240.30
Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Ashland, Brown, Buffalo, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marinette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Winnebago) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY) Click here for distribution map
In Canada: (BC, ON, QC) Click here for distribution map
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: na
Homotypic Synonym(s):
Heterotypic Synonym(s):
Autonym: na
Wetland Status (NC): FACU
Wetland Status (MW): FAC