Mulberry Tree

I believe my neighbor has a mulberry tree that hang over my property. I read some discussion about it and saw a picture that was the identical berry but a different leaf . This leaf looks more like a Fleur Di Les (sp?). It is not shiny.
Is it edible? Does it make decent jelly? I have two choices, either make use of the berries that are falling everywhere on my lawn or remove some of the offending branches. I love to make jelly and jam so I am hoping they might be good.
Thanks for any help. I don't have a picture now but can take one.

There are several different kinds of mulberries--some have shinier leaves and some don't. And some species can have somewhat variable leaf shape. I'm pretty sure they're all edible, but some probably taste better than others. Before you eat anything though I'd probably wait and post a picture to make sure it really is mulberry--chances are it is but it's always better to be safe than sorry! When you do get a picture, I'd also suggest posting on the Plant ID forum--I know there are people on that forum who know for sure how to tell apart the different varieties of mulberries and can probably also tell you if yours will be good for jelly or not. Here's a link to the Plant ID forum in case you haven't seen it yet: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/

The berries are edible and look and taste a lot like blackberrys. Mom used to make cobblers out of them and I remember she had to add vinegar to them because they were low in acid. The same for jelly. How much? I don't know.

guess i'm not that trusting but I wouldn't eat something or feed it to my family because a total but well meaning stranger said we could.
if you have a county master gardener program where you are, call them. find out their hours and bring a branch and some berries and show them.
they would at least give you an honest answer.

Is there a university or college near you? If they have a horticultural/botany department, or even an agricultural department, you can get your tree identified there. Alternately, if there is a licensed arborist in your vicinity, he/she could tell you about the tree, also. Just take a 8" or longer branch with leaves on it enclosed in a sealed plastic bag (that is so if there is any disease present, you don't spread it around!) to the college or arborist.
If you decide to trim the tree, please consult with your neighbor first. Also make sure you are making cuts in the proper places. We lost a 100 year old elm to a neighbor with more chain saw than sense, so I am sensitive to people whacking trees!

This is what our Mulberries look like.....
I'll go see if i can get a better shot of the leaves and the berry.

Jim, I have made cobbler,muffins, jam, and a mulberry syrup out of ours, and I have never added vinegar........hmmmmmm

Lisa, we have trees that have 2 different shapes of leaves. And both of ours are shiny, so here goes.

This is one of them. And I see you are in Wisconsin too :)

WILisa is your berries look like the one in kassy_51 photo you can sure eat them. All the mulberry trees I have ever seen are what we call French Mulberry and do not make fruit, just a quick shade and then they take over the world and the berry bearing mulberry. We don't see them much any more because they were good for fence posts. Lasted forever. I only know of 2 on our home place. They way we always tested berries we didn't know what they were , was to give one to our sister. If she didn't get sick we ate them.

One of the other trees. This is a small one that we transplanted.

Sorry, slow downloading. At BF's where the mulberries are, but he had dial up and it sucks :(

LOL Jim, I take it your sister is still living? I sure hope so anyway ;-)

A bigger one that has berries on it.
Kind of looks like I will be picking berries this weekend :)
Hard to take pictures of the leaves as it is windy here now.

And Jim, I figure if our chickens don't eat it, we better not.......LOL
But they love the mulberries if they can get to them.

I bet if WILisa lookes, she will see the birds feasting on the berries. Yes my sisters are a live and kicking. Actually, I am the baby of the family with four older sisters. I came along after Dad thought the gleem was gone from his eye. My oldest sister is 83 and my youngest is 74 and sporting a brand new hubby. I call them the black widows because all their husbands died off. Some time they still don't like me. Mainly it is because Momma loved me the best.

Welll, I'm glad to hear your sisters are alive and kicking, even if you do call them black widows :p.........Funny thing is, I am also the youngest of a family of 4 kids. Oldest brother would be 72 (but passed away at the age of 53) Sister is 69, and other bother is 62 I believe.
And mine don't like me either, because mom liked me best too ;-).....LOL
I took care of her for the last 2 and 1/2 years of her life.
I need to go pick berries today, before the birds run off with all of them. Only have at least 7 trees that have berries on them, and they will continue to have berries on them for at least a month or more depending on the weather and the birds..

Good luck with the berries kassy. Wish I lived close enough to help you. Course I eat about every one. No berries but the figs are getting ripe. Umm! The wife put up one batch of preserves yesterday and our daughter had her freeze her a gallon to take back to Ohio at Christmas, just to eat.

Thanks Jim.
I'm trying to get lisa by d-mail to talk to her about the tree, but so far I have not heard back from her.
Funny thing is, her and I only live about 40 miles from each other :)

Shucks maam, that is almost next door neighbors. Show you how things change, when I was a kid, a trip to Monroe, La. (the biggest town close to us) we only went once or twice a year. Monroe is about 40 miles away. By the time I was in my forty's, several couples of us would load up and drive to Shreveport to eat at Poncho's. About 3 hrs. away. Now we do most of our business in Monroe because the little rural have nothing to offer.

Hey Jim,
I know most of the little rural towns have nothing to offer. I live in one.
But then I live 16 miles from a much bigger one.
Ever hear of it? Green Bay ;-)
I bet you have :)

You bet. I can still remember when Bart Starr was a quarterback there. They weren't all pumped up on steriods then.. I am 10 miles south of Delhi. Go east and the city of consequence is Vicksburg, Miss. Go west from Delhi and the first major city is Monroe, La. Both are about 40 miles from Delhi. Delhi is pronounced, Dell High. Comes from high delta because it didn't flood in 1927.

Those where the good old days Jim ;-)
I remember that time too.