Downing's Everbearing Mulberry
DOWNING'S EVERBEARING

The everbearing class of mulberries arose from crosses between the native American red mulberry (Morus rubra) and either the black mulberriy (Morus nigra) tor the white multicaulis variety (Morus alba v. multicaulis).  All everbearing types bore ripe fruit for three months or longer.  There were two important everbearing varieties developed in the United States in the first half of the 19th century: the Hick's  and Downing's. Their virtues were contrasted repeatedly over the course of the nineteenth century.  

Created by Charles Downing of New York from a white multicaulis mulberry and the Morus rubra, the Downing's everbearing when fully mature bore long fruit of 1 and 1/2 inches in length, variable in color--black, purple, and white.  Some thought that its flavor rivaled the English black mulberry; others found it rather acid.  The range of opinion can be seen in two catalog descriptions drawn from late 19th-century American nurseries. The multicaulis mulberry was the preferred food of silk worms, but the Downing's mulberry did not excite the appetites of caterpillars. 

1.  Glen St. Mary's Nursery, 1897, Glen St. Mary's FL:  "A subacid berry of good quality; not as prolific as some sorts; a strong upright grower, with beautiful foliage; valuable as an ornamental or shade tree, as well as for its fruit." (p. 26).

2.  Cherokee Nursery, 1893, Waycross GA: "A good large berry; more acid than the Hicks; blooms very early in the spring, and sometimes gets killed by the cold; tree very strong, upright grower; foliage dark green, making the tree very ornamental for the lawn; eaves very large, affording fine shade" (p. 25).

In the South it was grown on properties where ornamental qualities were valued.  In the eyes of the region's pomologists it was viewed as a northern berry, while the Hick's and the Stubb's were southern and more suited to the purposes of farmers seeking poultry or livestock feed.  It may still be purchased from nurseries specializing in heirloom material.  

David S. Shields