Side by side
Fig or white mulberry? How to tell them apart
Ficus carica · Morus alba
How to tell them apart – fig: large, rough, deeply lobed leaves and figs; white mulberry: tree with glossy, smooth, often irregularly lobed leaves and white, pink or purple fruits that look like blackberries.
How do you recognise them?
- Fig
- Shrubby tree with large, rough, palmately lobed leaves and figs.
- Compared with white mulberry: large, rough, deeply lobed leaves and figs.
- White mulberry
- Tree with glossy, smooth, often irregularly lobed leaves and white, pink or purple fruits that look like blackberries.
| Fig | White mulberry | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, 10–25 cm, 3–5-lobed and rough to the touch; white milky sap. | Alternate, 6–15 cm, ovate to heart-shaped, toothed, glossy and smooth (not rough); irregularly lobed especially on young trees and shoots. White milky sap. |
| Flowering | The flowers are hidden inside the young fig. | Inconspicuous green, catkin-like flower clusters in May (May). |
| Fruit | Green to purple figs; in our climate mainly in summer. | White, pink or purple-black mulberries (1–2.5 cm) on a short stalk, June–August; sweet but bland. |
| Bark | Smooth and silvery grey. | Light brown to grey, shallowly furrowed, with orange-tinged fissures. |
| Shape and height | Fruit tree, 3–6 m | Fruit tree, 8–15 m |
| Site | Full sun, any garden soil, dry | Full sun, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | No, planted | No, planted |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Little | – |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | April–May | November–January |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have: see the growing conditions in the table.
Read on
- Plant profile: Fig
- Plant profile: White mulberry
- Fig: when and how to prune
- White mulberry: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.