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Chokeberry, Black

Scientific Name: Aronia melanocarpa

Family: Rosaceae

Height: 3 – 6 ft.

Spread: 3 – 6 ft.

Bloom Time: May

Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania

Ecological Value: Nectar source, berries for birds

Human Value: Extremely bitter berries are technically edible and contain a large amount of pectin, but need to be cooked with a great deal of sweetening such as in jams.

August 5, 2020: In a class on attracting animal life to gardens that I took at the Mt. Cuba Center in the fall of 2018, the lecturer said that he had observed that birds preferred black chokeberries to red chokeberries. I look forward to comparing the interest in the two species in our yard this fall (2020). So far, the birds have largely ignored the red chokeberry by the front door.

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