Who Knew

Mike bought an app for his phone.  If he takes a picture of a leaf, the app will provide the name of the plant.  He used his app the other day to discover that we had a white mulberry tree growing on our property over by Morton Building #2. 

The best news about this tree is that the fruit of a mulberry tree is edible.  I have already found several mulberry dessert recipes I want to try.  Although I will have to wait for the fruit to ripen from white to pink to red to black.  And I will need to make sure the birds do not beat me to the fruit. 

Once I finished searching for recipes, I researched the actual tree.  It was originally brought over to the United States from China where it is a food source for silkworms.  Supposedly, it also can be used for medicinal purposes.  Both its leaves and black berries can treat colds, sore throats, eye problems and more. 

The tree can grow 30 to 40 feet wide as well as tall and I would say ours seem close to that size.  To get fruit you have to have a tree with male flowers as well as a tree with female flowers.  (I do not know where our male tree is as it cannot produce fruit so I can not identify it.).

I am standing on one side of the tree and
snapping a picture of Mike on the
other side of the tree.  

Since production from our other fruit trees can be hit or miss, I am really excited about gathering fruit from this tree.  Although, we have three apple trees only one is big enough to produce a lot of apples and somehow they all disappear before they turn red.  We are thinking raccoons must be eating them.  We do have a peach tree with unripe peaches on it but as this is the first year for any fruit from this tree, and I do not want to count my peaches before they ripen.  

Apple tree with green apples

If I am lucky enough to beat the birds to the ripened fruit on the mulberry tree and if I can find a safe way to get the fruit off the branches,  Mike and I are going to have a lot of mulberries.  Thank goodness I read that you can freeze them!  Can't wait to get baking!