White Mulberry tree - Morus alba

The White Mulberry tree (species name:Morus alba) is a interesting tree originally from China but cultivated in many countries. I found this one in the Spanish city of Malaga. This particular tree it seems is the property of one rather well mannered mouse (above) who was kind enough to let me take a few pictures. She (or maybe a he?) sat perfectly balanced on her perch while I trained my camera on the leaves, the fruits and the branches of the tree. After I left this kind mouse went back to collecting the ripe Mulberry fruits.

(Mulberries not yet ripe - above)

It is called the "White Mulberry" but I am not sure what the "white" part refers to. There is also a "Red Mulberry" and a "Black Mulberry" that are known to have more flavorful fruits but as far as I can tell the fruits on all three of these trees in black when fully ripe. If someone wants to enlighten me on this one please leave a comment.

One curious thing about the leaves of the White Mulberry is that some of them are are lobed on one side like the one in the picture below. These leaves are also the main source (or perhaps the only source) of food for Silk Worms.

One rather interesting thing about this tree is that when it releases its pollen from its catkins it does so with an explosive burst of built up elastic energy that propels the polen at a speed close to half the speed of sound making it the fastest movement in the plant kingdom (from wikipedia)

(the White Mulberry bark - below)