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Forestry
Champion Trees
White Mulberry -
(Morus alba L.)
This huge, new Monroe County Champion White Mulberry tree has served as the
home to many birds and animals, and a few years ago was the tree house for some
ambitious kids. All that is left are a few old rotted planks. Recently
discovered by retired Monroe County Cooperative Extension Service Agent Reggie Talley,
this colossal specimen enjoys the solitude of a vacant lot across the street at
407 West Spruce street in Brinkley, Arkansas.
The White Mulberry tree (Morus alba L.) is actually a native of central and
east China that has naturalized in Europe and North America. It has been
reported in 25 of our 75 Arkansas counties, excluding Monroe county until now.
More commonly found along roadsides, fence rows, thickets, and fields, this tree
ranges from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, north to Maine and west to
Minnesota and Wisconsin; this cosmopolitan plant is known in nearly all parts of
the world. A member of the Mulberry family Moraceae, this long-lived tree
exhibits deciduous, alternate, entire, oval to heart-shaped leaves varying in
length from 3 to 8 inches. The green to olive-green dentate blades
are lustrous above, dull beneath and are sometimes found to be lobed .
The genus name Morus is the classical Latin name, and the species name alba
refers to the white fruit. Other vernacular names are Silk-worm Mulberry,
Russian Mulberry, Morera, and Morea. The fruit is not as juicy and is somewhat
smaller than the native Red Mulberry. The fruit, a syncarp, varies in sweetness
from tree to tree, with some fruit dry and insipid, as to be hardly edible.
Although the fruit is commonly white to pink, some varieties produce red or
black fruit. The fruit has much wildlife value, readily eaten by a number of
species of birds, opossum, and raccoon, as well as by hogs and poultry. The hard
and durable wood is used for furniture, utensils, and for boat-building.
This giant White Mulberry tree, in a class by itself, measured 17 feet 3
inches in circumference, 47 feet in height, with a crown spread of 70 feet,
yielding a (B.I.) Bigness Index of 272. The B.I. is calculated by adding the
circumference in inches [207] to the height in feet [47], to one fourth (1/4th)
the spread in feet [18] = 272. The previous Champion White Mulberry tree is
located in Dardanelle, Arkansas and is 5 feet 1 inch in circumference, 28 feet
in height, with a crown spread of 30 feet, yielding a B.I. of 97. The homeowners
where this tree resides have received a certificate from the Arkansas Forestry
Commission declaring their tree as the Arkansas State Champion Tree in it's
class. Talley will receive a nominator certificate and a copy of the official
letter of recognition.
By: Reggie Talley
Retired Monroe County Extension Agent
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