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- Aronia melanocarpa
Aronia melanocarpa — black chokeberry
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Facts
Black chokeberry gets its specific epithet (Melanocarpa), which means black fruit, from the black berries it produces. The common name chokeberry may come from the fact that its fruits are very bitter when eaten right off the tree. This leggy shrub can spread on suckers to grow into an attractive border thicket, which produces showy white flowers in spring and berries that attract birds in the fall.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), bogs, cliffs, balds, or ledges, fens, swamps, woodlands
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 30–90 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 15–50 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- purple
- red
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Anther color
- there is a noticeable pink, reddish or purplish tint to the anthers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
- white
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower has a hypanthium
- Inflorescence position
- the inflorescences grow on the twigs
- Inflorescence type
-
- the inflorescence is a corymb (with long lower branches and shorter upper branches, giving it a more or less flat-topped look)
- the inflorescence is a monochasial cyme (an axis with a terminal flower, below it a branch with a terminal flower, this branch may itself have a branch and so on)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
-
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal appearance
- the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases
- Stamen number
- 13 or more
- Stamen position relative to petals
- NA
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- black
- Fruit tissue origin
- the hypanthium of the flower becomes part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
- the underside of the leaf has no hairs
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- Leaf blade base symmetry
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
- Leaf blade length
- 30–90 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
- the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
- the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
- Leaf blade texture
-
- the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
- Leaf blade width
- 15–50 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade has glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- Leaf teeth
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
- Stipules
- the plant has stipules
-
Place
- Habitat
-
- terrestrial
- wetlands
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- bogs
- cliffs, balds, or ledges
- fens
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- swamps
- woodlands
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are clearly lenticels on the twigs
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
- the twigs have few or no hairs on them
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- purple
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FAC)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- widespread (S-rank: S5)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
3. Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Ell. N
black chokeberry. Aronia arbutifolia (L.) Ell. var. nigra (Willd.) Seymour; A. nigra (Willd.) Koehne; Mespilus arbutifolia L. var. melanocarpa Michx.; Photinia melanocarpa (Michx.) Robertson & Phipps; Pyrus arbutifolia (L.) L. f. var. nigra Willd.; P. melanocarpa (Michx.) Willd.; Sorbus melanocarpa (Michx.) Heynh. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Woodlands, balds, peatlands, swamps, roadsides.
3×Sorbus aucuparia L. ×Sorbaronia fallax (Schneid.) Schneid. is a rare intergeneric hybrid that sometimes escapes cultivation in New England (it is known from MA, ME). The nothogenus is recognized by characters described under hybrids of Aronia arbutifolia. This nothospecies is nearly glabrous in the inflorescence, along new branchlets, and on abaxial leaf surfaces and it has a black pome.
3×S. aucuparia. Aronia melanocarpa × Sorbus aucuparia → ×Sorbaronia fallax (Schneid.) Schneid. is a rare intergeneric hybrid that sometimes escapes cultivation in New England (it is known from CT, MA, ME). The nothogenus is recognized by characters described under hybrids of Aronia arbutifolia. This nothospecies is nearly glabrous in the inflorescence, along new branchlets, and on abaxial leaf surfaces and it has a black pome.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Aronia floribunda:
- fruit purple and leaf blades sparsely to moderately hairy on the lower surface (vs. A. melanocarpa, with fruit black and leaf blades essentially without hairs on the lower surface).
Synonyms
- Aronia arbutifolia (L.) Ell. var. nigra (Willd.) Seymour
- Aronia nigra (Willd.) Koehne
- Mespilus arbutifolia L. var. melanocarpa Michx.
- Photinia melanocarpa (Michx.) Robertson & Phipps
- Pyrus arbutifolia (L.) L. f. var. nigra Willd.
- Pyrus melanocarpa (Michx.) Willd.
- Sorbus melanocarpa (Michx.) Heynh.