I adore Chokeberry! They are sort of like Serviceberry, except definitely shrubs. I like the older scientific name of Aronia x prunifolia for Purple Chokeberry, that is a natural hybrid of the Red Chokeberry x the Black Chokeberry. Its foliage is more narrow like the Red species, but the fruit is more like the Black species. It is native to Nova Scotia and southeast Canada, New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, some spots in the Appalachians farther south, northern Ohio, much of Michigan, northern Indiana, northeast Illinois, and most of Wisconsin. The deep purple fruit in late summer into December is edible for birds and humans, though sort of tart. This species is not common in most places in its range and not easy to find in horticulture or in any nurseries. It should be used much more. In nature, like the other two species of Chokeberry, it is found in bogs, swamps, near wet woods and wet meadows, though it does fine in regular landscape situations. Chokeberries don't like hot, strong drought and should not be planted in small or narrow parking lot islands, though bigger of such spaces are alright. It is the fruit of the Red Chokeberry that is so bitter that one can choke from trying to eat it. I finally tasted a Purple berry in October 2023 and it tasted sweet for a moment and then had a tart after taste in my mouth. The most common chokeberry cultivar of "Viking" for fruit production for jams, jellies, and juices is really a Black Chokeberry, though sometimes called "Purple."

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