174 HOIV TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



of the separate fruits is about an inch long, is 

 sweet, juicy, and edible. It grows on a short 

 stem, usually from the axil of the leaf. The 

 fruit in ripening changes from green to red to 

 dark purple. July. 



Leaves. — The leaves are variable in shape but 

 are usually heart-ovate. On young shoots they 

 are often lobed. The margins are coarsely 

 toothed. The upper surface is shining and may 

 be smooth or rough. The lower surface is 

 lighter. Yellow is the autumnal color. 



Flowers. — A tree sometimes bears both stami- 

 nate and pistillate clusters of flowers, and some- 

 times but one kind. A few pistillate flowers 

 are occasionally found in the staminate flower 

 spikes. 



The Red Mulberry is the only species native 

 to America. The tree does not usually attain a 

 great size, but sometimes reaches a height of 

 from sixty to seventy feet. The finest trees are 

 to be found along the lower Ohio and the Missis- 

 sippi rivers. They range from Massachusetts to 

 Florida and west to Kansas and Nebraska. The 

 leaves do not serve successfully as food for silk- 

 worms. These flourish best on the White Mul- 

 berry leaves. An interesting feature occurs in 



