Aronia arbutifolia (Pyrus a.)|red chokeberry|Rosaceae

Aronia arbutifolia.MHGargiullo. Central NJ .5.25.2016

Aronia arbutifolia is a shrub to 3 m tall, colonial from rhizomes, twigs slender brownish, finely wooly.Winter buds often wine red, small, pointed.

Leaves alternate, to 7 cm densely pale hairy below, small glands along midrib above and at tips of marginal teeth; fall color bright red.

Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’_United_States_Botanic_Garden_commons.wikimedia.org.JPG (Accessed 9/2017)

Flowers white about 0.8 cm wide, petals and sepals 5, stamens numerous, anthers reddish; in clusters of 9-20, April-May.

Fruit fleshy, red, to 1 cm diam., 1-5 seeded, persistent, ripens Sept.-Oct., persistent into winter (Dirr 1991). Seed load 10%. Pulp nutrients: water 74%, lipid <1%, protein 4%, CHO 12% (White 1989).

Aronia arbutifolia.© University of Connecticut.www.hort.uconn.edu.jpg

Aronia arbutifolia fruit.© University of Connecticut.www.hort.uconn.edu.jpg (Accessed 9/2017).

Wetland status: FACW.

Frequency in NYC: Frequent.

Origin: Native.

Habitat: Undisturbed moist-wet forests and edges with acid soil, pH 5-6.5. Swamps and wet woods, salt marsh edges and back dune swales and wet woodlands (Hough 1983). Tolerant of flooding saturated soil 25% growing season), salt, soil compaction. Moderately tolerant of shade, drought (Hightshoe 1988). planted in many wetland restorations.

Notes: Fruit and buds eaten by some birds, twigs eaten by deer and rabbits. Seeds eaten by mice (Martin et al. 1951).

Related Terms:

Menu

Aronia arbutifolia (Pyrus a.) red chokeberry Rosaceae ARAR; Bx, br (planted), sf; Q, j (planted), tl; K, p (planted); R, ah, ar, bd, bm, c, ca, ch, cn, cp, ev, gb, gr, is, js, mc, mls, r, ro, sm, sv, t, wt, x;