308 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 
No deciduous tree presents a more graceful appearance in 
winter when the finely divided spray of the limbs, and the small 
size of the young growth make it very attractive. In this sec- 
tion it is preferred to the White Elm for a shade tree by some 
experienced planters. It endures drouth well, but is probably 
not as hardy in this way as the White Elm. It is also less 
liable to split in the crotches. The wood to some extent is 
used to take the place of elm, as in harness making. 
MORACEAE. MULBERRY FAMILY. 
The largest genus of this family is Ficus, which contains over 
600 known species, including the cultivated fig (/icus carica) 
and the Indiarubber Tree (Ficus elastica). The following genus 
contains about ten species, natives of the northern hemisphere. 
Genus MORUS. 
Trees or shrubs with milky sap and alternate; dentate and 
often lobed leaves. Flowers monoecious or dioecious (rarely 
polygamous) in axillary catkin-like spikes, the pistillate spikes 
ripening into succulent aggregated fruits. Calyx four-parted, 
in the pistillate flower becoming fleshy; stamens four; pistils 
one; stigma two. 
Morus rubra. Red Mulberry. 
Leaves ovate or nearly orbicular in outline, acute or taper- 
pointed, occasionally deeply lobed, glabrous above, persistently 
pubescent beneath, or when young almost tomentose. Flowers 
appear with the unfolding of the leaves. The fruit, which is at first 
bright red, when fully grown becomes dark purple or nearly black, 
and when fully ripe is sweet, juicy and pleasant to the taste. It 
ripens in summer, and is from one to one and one-fourth inches 
long. South, it forms a large tree, with brown rough bark, 
but within our range it is a small tree or mere shrub. 
Distribution.—Vermont to Ontario, Michigan, and South Da- 
kota and south to Florida and Texas. In Minnesota it reaches 
its northern limit in the southern part of the state. 
