Black Chokeberry (Aronia melancarpa)
As we welcome the season of brilliant leaf colors, crisp cool weather, holiday celebrations, and of course, honeysuckle eradication events, we wanted to shine this month’s spotlight on black chokeberry—a fantastic native that deserves more than 15 minutes of fame as a cool plant to replace a non-so-cool plant.
A member of the rose family, A. melancarpa is native to eastern N. America. Although common in most of its range, it’s somewhat rare in Missouri, found a bit sporadically in sandy wet or boggy ground. But increasingly, this extremely hardy deciduous shrub is thriving in home gardens, city parks, and other urban and suburban sites, forming colonies that provide food and shelter for wildlife, and doing well in a wide range of soils. This fall, look for A. melancarpa’s spectacular wine red foliage and purplish black fruits brightening up our local landscapes.
Fun fact: Specific epithet comes from the words melano meaning black and carpa meaning fruit in reference to the ripe fruits of this shrub. The common name of chokeberry is in reference to the tart and bitter taste of the fruits which are technically edible but so astringent as to cause choking in most of those who try. But mockingbirds and other avian foragers have been known to divebomb for the fruits.
A. melancarpa fruits are sometimes used by Homo sapiens to make tasty jams and jellies.
To do: After eradicating a ginormous stand of bush honeysuckle at a socially distant volunteer event this fall, consider having several A. melancarpa on hand to plant in its place, assuming the habitat is appropriate. In preparation, check out this list of other recommended native alternatives to common invasives in our region.