Aronia melanocarpa
Common name:
Black Chokeberry
Pronunciation:
a-RO-nee-a mel-an-o-KAR-pa
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Deciduous shrub, 3-5+ ft (0.9-1.5 m), rounded form; suckers and may form a large colony, twigs nearly glabrous. Leaves alternate, simple, 2-5 cm long, obovate and often abruptly acuminate, finely serrated, glossy green above, lighter below, fall color from red, red-brown, to purple-black. (Reportedly true A. melantocarpa does not develop fall color and possibly selections with good fall color have A. arbutifolia in their makeup.) Flowers white, 1.5 cm wide, 10-20 per cluster (corymb). Fruit, pea size, glossy black, ripening in early fall.
- Sun to part shade, low wet to sandy dry areas, very adaptable.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 3 Native from Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Michigan. Some of the selections in commerce include, 'Autumn Magic', Iroquois Beauty™, Low Scape™ Mound, 'Viking', and A. m. var. elata.
- The fruit is grown commercially and processed into juice.
- melanocarpa: melano, black; carpa, fruit
- Common name: chokeberrry, comes from the extremely astringent taste of the fruit. There is a report that birds generally avoid the fruit of Black Chokeberry until it has gone through several freeze-thaw cycles which reduces its astringency.
- Oregon State Univ. campus: east of Wilson Hall (near Adams and 11th St.).
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, flowering
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leaves, flowers and fruit
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flowers and leaves
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leafy shoot, summer
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leaves and ripening fruit, summer
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plant habit, fall
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leaves, fall
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leaves and fruit, fall
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plant habit, winter
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fruit clusters, winter
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twig and buds, winter
