Aronia

Aronia is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries, in the family Rosaceae native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The genus is usually considered to contain two or three species, one of which is naturalized in Europe. A fourth form that has long been cultivated under the name Aronia is now considered to be an intergeneric hybrid, Sorbaronia mitschurinii. Chokeberries are cultivated as ornamental plants and as food products. The sour berries, or aronia berries, can be eaten raw off the bush, but are more frequently processed. They can be found in wine, jam, syrup, juice, soft spreads, tea, salsa, chili starters, extracts, beer, ice cream, gummies and tinctures. The name 'chokeberry' comes from the astringency of the fruits, which create the sensation of making one's mouth pucker. Chokeberries are often mistakenly called chokecherries, the common name for Prunus virginiana. Further adding to the ambiguity, a variety of Prunus virginiana is melanocarpa, and readily confused with black chokeberry because it is commonly referred to as 'black chokeberry' or 'aronia'. Aronia berries and chokecherries both contain polyphenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins, yet the two plants are distantly related within the Rosaceae family. The leaves are alternate, simple, and oblanceolate with crenate margins and pinnate venation; in autumn the leaves turn a bold red color. Dark trichomes are present on the upper midrib surface. The flowers are small, with 5 petals and 5 sepals, and produced in corymbs of 10–25 together. Hypanthium is urn-shaped. The fruit is a small pome, with an astringent flavor. Aronia has been thought to be closely related to Photinia, and has been included in that genus in some classifications, but botanist Cornelis Kalkman observed that a combined genus should be under the older name Aronia. The combined genus contains about 65 species. In 2004, Kalkman expressed doubt about the monophyly of the combined group, and new molecular studies confirm this. They do not place these two genera together or even near one another. In eastern North America are two well-known species, named after their fruit color, red chokeberry and black chokeberry, plus a purple chokeberry whose origin is a natural hybrid of the two. A fourth species, Aronia mitschurinii, that apparently originated in cultivation, is also known as Sorbaronia mitschurinii.