Purple Chokeberry
Aronia prunifolia
Also listed as Photinia floribunda, Aronia x prunifolia
Found in balds, bogs, seepages, swamp forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
93
Keystone
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 8–12 feet
- Spread
- 6–9 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 7.5 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to May
- Fruiting season
- September to October
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Recorded in 34 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
68CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Sorbus
- Acleris nivisellanaApple Leaf Twister, Snowy-Shouldered Acleris
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Acronicta clarescensClear Dagger
- Acronicta fragilisFragile Dagger
- Acronicta funeralisFunerary Dagger, Paddle Caterpillar
- Acronicta impletaYellow-Haired Dagger
- Acronicta innotataUnmarked Dagger
- Acronicta interruptaInterrupted Dagger
- Acronicta radcliffeiRadcliffe's Dagger
- Acronicta superansSplendid Dagger, Chieftain Dagger
Show all 68
- Alsophila pometariaFall Cankerworm Moth
- Amphipyra pyramidoidesMiranda Underwing, Copper Underwing, Copper Amphipyra
- Ancylis burgessianaOak Leafroller
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
- Catocala gryneaWoody Underwing
- Cenopis pettitanaMaple-Basswood Leafroller Moth
- Choristoneura conflictanaLarge Aspen Tortrix
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
- Dysstroma citrataDark Marbled Carpet
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
- Ennomos subsignariaElm Spanworm Moth
- Erannis tiliariaLinden Looper Moth, Western Winter Moth, Lime Looper
- Eulia ministranaFerruginous Eulia
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Eupsilia tristigmataThree-Spotted Sallow, Brown Fruitworm
- Euzophera semifuneralisAmerican Plum Borer
- Halysidota tessellarisBanded Tussock Moth, Pale Tiger Moth
- Hedya chionosemaTwin-Spotted Budworm, White-Spotted Hedya
- Hedya nr.Large Bud Moth, Green Bud Moth, Off-White Hedya
- Hesperumia sulphurariaSulphur Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Iridopsis larvariaBent-Line Gray
- Korscheltellus gracilisConifer Swift Moth, Graceful Ghost Moth
- Limenitis arthemisBanded Purple, Red-Spotted Admiral
- Lithophane innominataNameless Pinion
- Lomographa semiclarataBluish Spring Moth, Wildcherry Looper
- Lomographa vestaliataWhite Spring Moth
- Lophocampa maculataSpotted Tussock Moth, Yellow-Spotted Tiger Moth
- Lyonetia prunifoliellaStriped Bent-wing
- 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
- Paraclemensia acerifoliellaMaple Leafcutter, Maple Case-Bearer
- Phigalia titeaThe Half-Wing Geometer, Spiney Looper, Eastern Oak Looper
- Phyllonorycter crataegellaApple Leaf Miner, Apple Blotch Leafminer, Apple Leafblotch Miner
- Podosesia syringaeLilac Borer Moth, Ash Borer
- Pseudothyatira cymatophoroidesTufted Thyatirid
- Rhopobota naevanaBlackheaded Fireworm, Holly Bud Moth, Holly Tortrix
- Satyrium liparopsStriped Hairstreak
- Semioscopis packardellaPackard's Concealer Moth, Packard's Semioscopis
- Synanthedon pictipesLesser Peachtree Borer Moth
- Synanthedon scitulaDogwood Borer, Pecan Borer
- Venusia cambricaThe Welsh Wave
- Venusia comptariaBrown-Shaded Carpet
- Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
14BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Aronia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
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” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · 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
| Virginia rank | S4? |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNA [G4G5] |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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