Scientific Name
Broussonetia papyrifera ‘Paper Mulberry’
Paper mulberry is a close relative of the common mulberry trees familiar to many people. However, it differs enough from true mulberries to belong to its own separate genus.
The tree is native to East and Southeast Asia, and most research points to Taiwan as its original home. For centuries, people throughout Asia and Polynesia have used its bark to make paper and a traditional fabric known as tapa cloth. The tree is so versatile that even its roots have been used to make rope.
The toothed, rough textured leaves resemble those of mulberry trees. Some leaves are unlobed, while others develop exaggerated narrow waists and deep lobes, especially on vigorous new growth. Paper mulberry is a fast-growing tree that can reach 30 to 40 feet tall in this climate. The male and female flowers occur on separate trees, and the fruits are clusters of red-orange drupes that resemble mulberries.
The tree at Regis is female and has flowered, but it has not produced fruit because no nearby male tree is available to provide pollen. This is considered fortunate because paper mulberry has the potential to become invasive, and birds could hypothetically spread the seeds. As far as is known, there are no other trees of this species along the Front Range that could enable this to occur. There is also the possibility that this tree could someday produce a few male flowers and self-pollinate, though that does not always result in viable seed.
If fruit begins to appear and the seed proves viable, the tree may ultimately need to be removed. Even though Colorado’s climate is often hostile to plants that become invasive elsewhere, some species that are only marginally hardy here can still spread aggressively under the right conditions, as seen with Albizia julibrissin, commonly known as silk tree or mimosa.