Maclura tricuspidata – Cudrania tricuspidata – Cudrania –

Description

Maclura – Cudrania – There are about 15 species of usually thorny, evergreen or deciduous, dioecious trees, shrubs, or scrambling climbers in this genus. They occur in woodland and clearings, by roadsides, from Eastern Asia to Australia, and from South Central USA to South America. They produce alternate or spiraling simple leaves which are pointed ovate and are sometimes downy beneath. Both male and females bears racemes or clusters of small, spherical or cup shaped, usually yellow to green flowers, which are followed by on female trees by fleshy, spherical fruits, maturing to yellow or orange, which are surrounded by enlarges bracts.. Grow in a shrub border, as a windbreak, or as specimens. Grow in moderately fertile, well drained soil in full sun or partial shade. They tolerate a range of soils and some are drought tolerant. Prone to dieback, gray mold, rust, wilt, and scale insects. M. tricuspidata – Cudrania tricuspidata – This compact, rounded, deciduous shrub or small tree from Central China and Korea grows 20′ feet tall and wide. It produces ovate or obovate, dark green leaves, to 4″ long, sometimes 3 lobed at the apexes. In summer it bears spherical clusters of tiny green flowers are held singly or in pairs on current years growth. Flowers are followed by on female plants by glossy, edible, orange-red fruit, to 2″ across. Zones 5-9