Bushcraft - Central Texas Style - The Salad Tree

What can you find in a residential area, in a park or growing along the edge of a remote wooded area? It’s a fairly common species of tree that offers a couple of options as a food source and is widespread throughout many parts of Central Texas. Chances are you may even have one growing in your own backyard! The above picture is of a large tree growing in my own backyard.

This widespread and locally available tree is the Texas mulberry (Morus microphylla). The ripe fruit of this tree is edible and the young leaves of the mulberry tree can be cooked and eaten to make a tasty salad of greens. Make sure to discard the water the young leaves were cooked in and consume only the cooked leaves themselves.

Mulberries begin to ripen in the late spring and continue to ripen into the early part of summer. Mulberries can also be used in much the same manner as any other types of berries (jellies, jams, wines, etc.). The ripe fruit falls easily from the tree and makes a big mess underneath that can be seen quite easily.

The Tonkawa tribe also used the inner bark of the mulberry tree to make ropes and a form of coarse cloth. The mulberry tree, which was originally introduced as an ornamental plant in the United States, now grows like a weed in Central Texas.

Mulberries also contain anthocyanins which possess an antioxidant property that can help to improve your visual acuity. There main use is as a food colorant and as an agent in making dyes.

Mulberries can be grown from seed or from cuttings. Trees grown from seedlings are usually healthier and form a better shape for ornamental purposes. Cuttings take root easily and are a widespread method of planting mulberries.

Got mulberries?

Staying above the water line!

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