Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry)

Red chokeberry is a multi-stemmed shrub that is native to both wet and dry thickets. It tends to sucker and form colonies. Clusters of sweet-smelling white to light pink flowers appear in Spring. Flowers are followed by abundant glossy red fruits which appear in dense clusters along the branches. Edible (though very acidic when raw) fruits ripen in late summer and persist on the shrub throughout fall and well into winter. Foliage turns bright red in autumn. Fruits are sometimes used to make tasty jams and jellies. A popular native plant for landscaping. Reaches a height of 5–12' and a spread of 4–8'. 

Red chokeberry is native to eastern North America. It is found throughout Maryland's coastal plain. Its habitat is swamps, wet thickets, bogs, fens, margins of freshwater wetlands. Flowers February to May; fruits September to November. Flowers are visited by numerous pollinators, and berries provide food for birds and mammals in late winter. On the University of Maryland Extension's list of recommended native shrubs. 

BONAP Native Range Map (bright green indicates county native, dark green indicates state native)  

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