Aronia Berries – What’s Their Potential?

Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa / Photinia melanocarpa), sometimes called black chokeberry, is a deciduous shrub native to eastern North America, used by landscapers primarily for its clusters of creamy white flowers in late spring, and colorful flame-colored autumn foliage contrasting with dark berries. The thick bushes grow to 6 to 8 feet in height, and are sometimes used as a windbreak in border plantings. Aronia requires a damp, acid soil with sufficient rain during the growing season. The pea-sized, violet-black berries are harvested in autumn. Berries have a strong, stable and natural color, with a dry and sour strong flavor. For those interested in a dual-purpose plant for edible landscaping, the recent introduction “Autumn Magic” from the University of British Columbia was selected for large fruit size, superior fall color and overall form.  Full Article

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Aronia: The North American super berry with cancer-fighting properties

While elderberry from Austria, acai from the Amazon, maqui from Patagonia and sea-buckthorn berry from Northern Asia have all made headlines as super berries packed with nutrition, a lesser known North American berry is gaining ground, poised to hit the nutritional spotlight as a world class super berry: Aronia.

Commonly found wild in woodlands and swamps, aronia is also known as chokeberry, due to its astringent flavor. The berries come naturally in three colors – red, purple and black-purple. Aronia melanocarpa, the black-purple species, has a much deeper purple color than blueberries, which are also North American natives. The berry is now cultivated, and that cultivation is expanding in anticipation of the berry’s impending popularity. Full Article

From Agricultural Marketing Resource Center

Aronia Berries is commonly known as “black chokeberry,” although the preferred common name used by individuals who sell the berries or products made from them is “black aronia berry” or simply “aronia”. Aronia is a woody perennial shrub in the rosaceae family that is native to the eastern United States and hardy to zone three. It grows in full sun and along woodland edges. In recent years, most of its native habitat has been lost to field crops and urbanization (Hardin, 1973).  Full Article