Can it be worked like white wood, Liviu? Alternately, is mulberry more like Osage Orange, meaning a single growth ring needs to be “chased”?

Thank you for taking the time to reply Erik, If I can find some European Mulberry Ill be sure to send a smaple over to the database.

American mulberry will be either the native Morus rubra, the invasive Morus alba, or perhaps a hybrid between them. I suspect most European mulberries will be Morus nigra (which has the best fruit, but only likes California over here). It is likely the species differ in wood as well as foliage.

Firstly, I just trimmed a beast in my yard because they can pop up behind a shed and shoot up several feet unnoticed amongst other shrubs/trees. The White Mulberry is invasive in my US state and for good reason! It is so aggressive that it has choked out the Siberian Elm in the yard, a tree capable of dominating an entire neighborhood through seeds and massive root networks.
Unfortunately the sap/syrup from the fresh cuts/stripped bark gave me horrific hives within moments of exposure on my hands and forearms. I can eat the berries and have no reaction. Some people may experience the same thing when working with the fresh wood.
The fresh green wood bends readily and can be “trained” into fun projects. It’s great for making bows for this reason, as well as 100s of other nature inspired crafts like fairy garden décor.
I can also confirm that silk worms love them. I have found cocoons in my yard in recent years, when I previously never saw them before in person! How cool, right?

I’m currently taking out 2 trees that are in my way they were pollarded so there may be some nice projects material there. I live in northern Ca if you want any pieces. I would rather somebody put it to good use if you can

The first includes some of the rough split surface which has darkened after a few years of storage. Sunlight speeds that up, but even in my basement that aging process takes place. It also shows the high contrast between heartwood and sapwood, and that the sapwood does not seem to darken significantly, producing high contrast.

Second is the cleanly cut side of that piece, with about a month of indirect daylight exposure after being sawn,

This wood is extensively used in Turkey, and other parts of middle-east and balkans for musical instruments.

Eventually the bark dries and falls off, at least some of it does, having a kind of fibrous inner layer that has been used to make paper in Asia. That’s been my experience. Diluted glue could probably soak in and hold it.
Air drying is not a problem, better than most woods in my experience, but you need to coat the end grain well. For any log. Wax is not necessary and yellow wood glue followed by 2 or 3 coats exterior house paint (as glossy as possibly) actually works better. Asphalt emulsion such as is sold for driveways works too. Oil base asphalt roof cement works but is messy.

Its rather high in tannins and responds to lye much like cherry does. Don’t know about ammonia, but it turns blackish when in contact with rust like oak does.

Exposed to sunlight, mulberry darkens rapidly and dramatically, however the sap wood will still be lighter and more gray.

thanks for the info

on another note, I have long dreamed of carving a Chair from a standing stump and the stump from this tree is the perfect size. My hope is to harvest the rest of the wood from the tree in the spring before the sap starts to run and rough out the chair and cut it from the stump at ground level to dry very slowly inside a small temperature and humid controlled room in my basement. Has anyone tried this and are there any tips to drying the chair without it twisting and/or cracking?

I am currently building a uke from fruitless mulberry.. looks good so far!

It is an attractive wood. But as a “weed tree”, I’m not surprised it isn widely available commercially.