I can't figure this one out. It's leaves look like an Elm but they don't have the characteristic asymmetrical bend at the base. The tree looked very open even in full bloom as well. The bark was not something I'm used to either.
My friend is also curious what this is. Any ideas?
Yes - not an Elm.
Crappy old Mulberry - probably Morus alba, the invasive exotic White/Asian Mulberry.
If the leaves are thin and shiny, that's the one. I can't tell absolutely from the images.
If the leaves are thick and rough, then it is the native Morus rubra - which is a keeper.
Thanks VV. I will check out the leaves to confirm which Mulberry it is.
It may be hard to distinguish. I spent a lot of time trying to ID the copius mulberries on my property until I read that the two species hybridize. It was very puzzling because I found both kinds of leaves and the fruits were no help in the diagnosis, either. In fact, according to the extension service or the forestry service reports (I don't remember which) the hybridized mulberries are what you find growing all over Massachusetts. The native ones are supposedly still possible to find in western Mass. I thought the contorted branches were rather pretty, but since it is a short lived and weak tree, we have now removed our two largest ones. I looked for them and found no mention of mulberries in Doug Tallamy's Bringing Nature Home.
Use your pocket DNA kit.
That's cute. I don't have a thousand dollars to trace my own deep ancestery, let alone the plant's.
Yes, but you aren't worried about grubbing yourself out...
The mulberry trees are destined for firewood anyway. Glad I'm not a tree.
