Life History & Disturbance Response of Morus rubra red mulberry

Family: Moraceae
Guild: opportunistic, fast-growing understory tolerant
Functional Lifeform: small to medium-size deciduous tree
Ecological Role: grows on moist hillsides and along well-drained steam bottoms; occurs as scattered individuals in bottomland hardwood mixtures; produces abundant fruit for wildlife
Lifespan, yrs (typical/max): 100/125
Shade Tolerance: tolerant
Height, m: 5-21
Canopy Tree: no
Pollination Agent: wind
Seeding, yrs (begins/optimal/declines): 10/30/85
Mast Frequency, yrs: 2-3
New Cohorts Source: seeds or sprouts
Flowering Dates: late spring
Flowers/Cones Damaged by Frost: Information Not Found
Seedfall Begins: summer
Seed Banking: up to 1 yr
Cold Stratification Required: yes
Seed Type/Dispersal Distance/Agent: multiple druplets/ to 100 m/ birds, gravity
Season of Germination: spring
Seedling Rooting System: variable
Sprouting: stump sprouts and root suckers common
Establishment Seedbed Preferences
Substrate: variable
Light: overstory shade
Moisture: moist required
Temperature: neutral
Disturbance response:
Fire: Red mulberry is apparently excluded from certain forest communities by periodic fire, and is favored when fire is excluded. Red mulberry is sensitive to fire, because its bark is thin and roots are shallow. When topkilled, it sprouts from adventitious buds in the root collar or from root suckers. Red mulberry may colonize a burned site when the soil is moist from offsite seeds carried by birds and other animals.
Weather: Red mulberry is moderately tolerant of flooding, at least for a single growing season.