Fruit is a dark purple aggregate that ripens in July and August and resembles a blackberry. The top is either rounded or spreading. This tree was introduced from Asia but has escaped cultivation. Several cultivars were derived from this species, including Morus alba 'Pendula,' that has slender, drooping branches. The leaf margin is toothed.
Terminal buds are absent.
The bark of trunks and branches is light gray and ridged, or furrowed. May flowers are normally dioecious, small, and greenish in color. Fruits are white, pink, or violet and ripen in July or August. Fruit is normally lighter and inferior in quality when compared to the red mulberry. Fruit is relished by birds and may be substituted for blackberries in recipes.