How hard is mulberry wood?

Mulberry (Morus rubra) has a Janka hardness of 1680 lbf, a side-hardness reference value from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory measured at 12% moisture content. It works well by hand or machine despite the hardness, though it is moderately blunting on cutters.

Is mulberry good for outdoor use?

Yes. Mulberry heartwood is rated very durable to durable in ground contact, holding up to decay fungi about as well as white oak or black locust. It is traditionally used for fence posts and boatbuilding parts.

What color is mulberry wood and how does it work?

Mulberry is golden brown to medium yellow-brown off the saw and darkens to a russet or reddish brown with age and light, over narrow pale yellow sapwood. It glues, turns, and finishes well, takes a high polish, and is used for furniture, turnings, archery bows, and decorative interior work.

DomesticMorus rubra

Mulberry

The outdoor-durable hardwood that nobody talks about.

Mulberry (Morus rubra) is a domestic hardwood from the eastern and central United States with a Janka hardness of 1680 lbf. It runs golden brown to medium yellow-brown off the saw, darkening to russet with age, and its heartwood is very durable in ground contact.

Category: Domestic
Janka: 1,680 lbf
Botanical: Morus rubra
Shipped at: 6–8% MC

Morus rubra Red Mulberry · Red Mulberry · Eastern and central United States

Eastern and central United States.

Often confused with osage orange. Golden brown to medium yellow-brown off the saw.

Detail of Mulberry grain — figured wood texture, photographed at Raw Heartwood — A close read on the grain. Detail of this specimen

What you see.

Golden brown to medium yellow-brown off the saw. Darkens to a russet or reddish brown with age and light. Narrow pale yellow sapwood, sharp line. Planed surfaces sometimes show subtle chatoyance.

Heartwood color detail of Mulberry (Morus rubra)

Heartwood, this specimen

How the grain runs.

Generally straight to slightly interlocked. Medium to coarse texture, good luster. Ring-porous — strong growth-ring contrast.

Closer in

On the bench.

Heartwood very durable to durable in ground contact. Holds up to decay fungi about like white oak or black locust. That is high company. Works well by hand or machine despite the hardness. Moderately blunting on cutters. Glues, turns, finishes well. Takes a high polish. No distinctive odor at the cut. Sawdust and bark have caused skin and respiratory reactions in some workers. The fresh material carries latex. Standard precautions plus a little extra if you are sensitive.

The numbers, looked at directly.

Janka Hardness

0lbf

7,470 N. Side-hardness — force to embed a half-inch steel ball halfway into the wood.

Average Dried Weight

0lbs/ft³

720 kg/m³. At 12% MC.

Specific Gravity

0.59/ 0.72 at 12% MC

Basic over green volume; second number at 12% moisture content.

Hardness, in context

A side-hardness measurement. Higher number, harder wood.

Shrinkage — radial / tangential / volumetric

3.6%radial

7.8%tangential

11.9%volumetric

On sourcing

Where this wood comes from matters.

Not on CITES. IUCN Least Concern. Widespread but not commercial-scale. Comes through specialty channels.

What it's for.

Fence posts
Furniture
Turnings
Archery bows
Boatbuilding parts
Cooperage
Decorative interior

Worth knowing.

Often confused with osage orange. Both yellow on exposure, both brown out. Mulberry is lighter and softer. White Mulberry (M. alba), the naturalized Asian one, runs a touch denser but otherwise behaves the same.

Sources & references.

Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-282) — USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
Silvics of North America: Morus rubra L. — Red Mulberry — Wunderlin, Richard P. (USDA Forest Service) (1990)
Morus rubra — IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — Stritch, L. (2018)
Morus rubra — Wikipedia contributors
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) — The Wood Database
Morus rubra — Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) — Sullivan, Janet (USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station) (1994)

Common questions.

How hard is mulberry wood?: Mulberry (Morus rubra) has a Janka hardness of 1680 lbf, a side-hardness reference value from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory measured at 12% moisture content. It works well by hand or machine despite the hardness, though it is moderately blunting on cutters.
Is mulberry good for outdoor use?: Yes. Mulberry heartwood is rated very durable to durable in ground contact, holding up to decay fungi about as well as white oak or black locust. It is traditionally used for fence posts and boatbuilding parts.
What color is mulberry wood and how does it work?: Mulberry is golden brown to medium yellow-brown off the saw and darkens to a russet or reddish brown with age and light, over narrow pale yellow sapwood. It glues, turns, and finishes well, takes a high polish, and is used for furniture, turnings, archery bows, and decorative interior work.

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