Family: Moraceae
Morus alba (white mulberry, silkworm mulberry) is a deciduous tree originating from China. Primarily cultivated to feed silkworms for silk production, its leaves are also utilized in various Asian culinary practices and traditional Chinese medicine. Widely grown globally, including in the United States, Mexico, Australia, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina, Turkey, and Iran, it has naturalized throughout the U.S. and the Hawaiian Islands. While having a history of invasiveness in other regions, such as the continental U.S. and Australia, Morus alba has not currently posed a negative impact on native ecosystems or agriculture in the Hawaiian Islands. The plant’s sap is reported to be mildly toxic or allergenic to humans, but its cultivation in the islands seems to coexist without adverse effects, despite documented invasiveness elsewhere in the world.
High Risk Traits:
- Broad climate suitability and elevation range
- Grows and naturalized in regions with temperate to tropical climates
- Naturalized on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii (Hawaiian Islands) and widely naturalized elsewhere
- Reported to be weedy and invasive in continental North America, Australia and possibly elsewhere
- Potentially allelopathic
- Sap reported to be mildly toxic or allergenic to humans
- Shade tolerant
- Tolerates many soil types
- Can form dense thickets in introduced range (but impacts on other vegetation ambiguous)
- Reproduces by seeds
- Hybridizes with Morus rubra in North America
- Seeds are dispersed by birds, other frugivorous animals, water and humans
- Able to coppice and resprout after cutting
Low Risk Traits:
- Does not currently appear to be negatively impacting native ecosystems or agriculture in the Hawaiian Islands, in spite of long history of cultivation in the islands, and well-documented invasiveness elsewhere in the world
- Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
- Provides fodder for livestock
- Not reported to be toxic to animals
- Although some plants may be self-compatible, the subdioecious breeding system may reduce or prevent seed set in isolated individuals
- Reaches maturity in 5+ years
- Herbicides provide effective control
