Purple Chokeberry
Aronia prunifolia
Also listed as Photinia floribunda, Aronia x prunifolia
Found in balds, bogs, seepages, swamp forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 8–12 feet
- Spread
- 6–9 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to May
- Fruiting season
- September to October
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Recorded in 4 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 3
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
47CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Sorbus
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Acronicta clarescensClear Dagger
- Acronicta funeralisFunerary Dagger, Paddle Caterpillar
- Acronicta impletaYellow-Haired Dagger
- Acronicta interruptaInterrupted Dagger
- Acronicta radcliffeiRadcliffe's Dagger
- Alsophila pometariaFall Cankerworm Moth
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Ancylis burgessianaOak Leafroller
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
Show all 47
- Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
- Catocala gryneaWoody Underwing
- Cenopis pettitanaMaple-Basswood Leafroller Moth
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Ennomos subsignariaElm Spanworm Moth
- Erannis tiliariaLinden Looper Moth, Western Winter Moth, Lime Looper
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Euzophera semifuneralisAmerican Plum Borer
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Hedya chionosemaTwin-Spotted Budworm, White-Spotted Hedya
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Iridopsis larvariaBent-Line Gray
- Limenitis arthemisBanded Purple, Red-Spotted Admiral
- Lomographa semiclarataBluish Spring Moth, Wildcherry Looper
- Lomographa vestaliataWhite Spring Moth
- Machimia tentoriferellaGold-Striped Leaftier Moth
- Malacosoma americanaEastern Tent Caterpillar
- Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
- Metaxaglaea semitariaFootpath Sallow
- Metaxaglaea viaticaRoadside Sallow
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Nemoria mimosariaWhite-Fringed Emerald
- Nymphalis antiopaMourning Cloak
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Pandemis limitataThree-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Papilio glaucusEastern Tiger Swallowtail
- Phigalia titeaThe Half-Wing Geometer, Spiney Looper, Eastern Oak Looper
- Podosesia syringaeLilac Borer Moth, Ash Borer
- Pseudothyatira cymatophoroidesTufted Thyatirid
- Satyrium liparopsStriped Hairstreak
- Synanthedon pictipesLesser Peachtree Borer Moth
- Synanthedon scitulaDogwood Borer, Pecan Borer
- Venusia comptariaBrown-Shaded Carpet
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sorbus
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–7b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Pink or white
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “8–12 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6–9 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Aronia x prunifolia; Hybrid Chokeberry; Photinia floribunda; Sorbus arbutifolia var. atropurpurea; mountain ash; mountain-ash
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNA [G4G5] |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications