When they first listed it, Raintree's description of the Parfianka Pomegranate said it was hardy to zone 5. If only!

"Stark Bros has a picture of blackberry fruit with their listing of Illinois Everbearing Mulberry. (and that picture has been there for years!)"

Look too long and would have to have been picked very early if those are blackberries.

But until I looked at the picture I was thinking about wild ones and wondering how you'd tell the difference from a picture. (Have plenty of those weed trees around here and I can't tell the difference in person.)

Just found one while looking at Burnt Ridge:

"ARCTIC BEAUTY MALE (Actinidia kolomikta)
.........Needs male for pollination."

Actually they have the description for both the female and the male under the description of the male.

Trees of antiquity shows some kind of red apple as a picture for most of their asian pears. There is only one red asian pear that know of and they don't have it.

Such errors abound both in print and on the internet. One friend uses the term "errors of omission and commission", to include both typos and factual misstatements as well as things being left out that should not have.

All topics being checked to get the true facts need to be pursued using a "literature survey", even then you need to suss who has the straight dope - misinformation may be picked up and repeated by multiple sources.

When reading about specific plants it is a good idea to look at any monographs on that topic that may be available, say a book on apples instead of a book on gardening or even fruit trees. People preparing works with such a narrow focus are probably generally more likely to have looked into the topic deeply enough to have come up with reliable information.

While the internet may be threatening print reference books now it is definitely still not the time to use web searches only to get the whole story on any particular subject.

Not really a mistake, but I always got a chuckle the way Michael McConkey described the Tiger Swallowtail. In his Edible Landscaping catalog, he made it sound like it was a freakin' bird. I don't have the catalog in front of me, but it was something to the effect of, "Pawpaws are the only tree in which the Tiger Swallowtail choses to rear its young."

I know they're pretty to look at, but we seem to have enough swallowtail butterflies around here that I kill the grubs. They've nearly stripped a couple young Pawpaws before.

I think the stem is wrong for a mulberry (but looks like a blackberry, a little under-ripe).

Also, I've got 6 pawpaws and haven't had a swallowtail caterpillar yet. i've got passionflowers and don't get fritalaries either.

~Chills

Here is a link that might be useful: Stark Mulberry

I'm with you, Chills. Those are underripe blackberries.
Never saw a mulberry that came off the tree without the stem attached.
Several years back, we went to the KY State Fair - the cover photo on the program was a close up of a callery pear branch with a big red apple photoshopped in, like it was hanging on that branch. Stood out like a sore thumb to me, but I suspect it went right by most folks unnoticed.

Check out the TyTy Nursery online catalog - and they've got some videos on YouTube now, too - for some entertainment, though I'll warn that they're a bit wierd and creepy. But never, ever yield to the urge to buy anything from them. Only sadness, frustration, and despair awaits those who fall prey to the siren-song of TyTy.

TyTy is another whole thread indeed. Maybe if they sought out really pretty local girls to model with their trees and didn't photoshop stupid stuff into the pix their website would be less of a joke. Then again if they actually did right by their customers and supplied reasonable product (correctly labeled and guaranteed) they might in time be a worthwhile supplier...I am still amazed they have stayed in business as long as they have.

I have looked at their offerings, but fortunately have avoided ordering from them (though I have been suckered by less obvious suppliers on occasion).

~Chills

Not a catalogue mistake, but speaking of mulberries, I entered my mulberry jam in the California State Fair last year and got disqualified because I had entered it in the "wrong category" (tree fuit instead of brambles)(judging isn't done in public, and you don't know until they mail it how you did, unless you're 1st place) And the infuriating thing is that I actually CALLED the entry office before I mailed in my paperwork to make sure they agreed it should be in tree fruit, like fig jams are, instead of with the blackberry and raspberry jams.
Grrrrrrr. (I am going to try again in 2010, and ask for a refund/credit of my entry money)

Carla in Sac

Continuing unfunny State Fair laments, one year I entered thimbleberry (R. parviflorus) jelly. It was beautiful and tasty. Placed last of about 20 entries. Unsampled.

Winner: Quince jelly shot full of black specks.
Second: Beet jelly
Third: "Mystery" jelly

Better luck Carla!