Mulberries!

Is it just me or does everyone get excited over trees? I was out and about between the rain showers when I found what I thought was a Mulberry Tree. Now, not having seen one since I was a child...and like most children, I was not overly observant...I was not certain that I was correct in my identification. I took pictures of the leaves and waltzed myself in to look it up on the computer. Yep...as far as I can tell..Mulberry! This makes me ecstatic..or at least mildly happy.. I now will have another fruit tree in the yard. Come this winter, I will dig up the small tree and transplant it somewhere in the yard as right now, it is growing right on the side of the driveway. This will at some point prove to be a tad unhealthy for the small tree..someone is sure to drive right over it and that would be the end of Mulberry time for me.

As a child, I can remember climbing up among the branches of a very large Mulberry Tree that grew behind my dad's shed. My brother and I would sit in those branches and eat the gooey black berries until we were literally sick! It mattered not to us that each berry we popped in our mouth had not been washed and more likely than not, contained a worm in its center! We picked and ate...and..dyed our shirts at the same time. I know Mom really must have appreciated the purple stains! Eventually, he and I would get the giggles over some inane thing and tumble from the tree. This was not entirely our fault..come to find out, the unripe fruit are purported to be mildly hallucinogenic! Not to mention, the older, overripe fruit ferment quickly. We were probably a bit "drunk" and didn't even know what it meant! We should have had some clue about this as our chickens would always wobble around a bit after eating all of the overripe berries that had dropped to the ground. But then, again, to children, chickens always wobble so it did not sink in our heads that it could possibly be an effect of the Mulberries! I just remember the super sweetness of the ripe fruit.

I am a bit perplexed at what I have read about the Mulberry Tree. Some sources tout the leaves of the tree as edible and that they actually can be used as a way to control blood sugar levels and hence Diabetes. On the other hand, other sources say the leaves are toxic! I have found recipes for "Stuffed Mulberry Leaves" and "Mulberry Leaf Tea". Both of these, I would love to try but not if I am going to get deathly ill! More research is to be done! Regardless of the edibility of the leaves, the tree will be transplanted to the yard for the use of the ripe berries.