Plants and Animals

Aronia arbutifolia Red-fruited chokeberry

species photo
Daniel Goldowitz CC BY-NC 4.0

Key Characteristics

Red-fruited chokeberry is a multi-stemmed, 1–4 m tall, deciduous shrub that can form colonies. Twigs and undersides of leaves are covered with short cottony hairs. Leaves are 3–7 cm long, elliptic to oblong, glossy and dark green above, turning orange-red in fall. Spring flowers are white to light pink and grow in flat-topped clusters. The fruit is a bright red berry that appears in the fall and persists into winter.

The most reliable trait for distinction from A. prunifolia is the ripe purple-black colored fruits of A. prunifolia. A. arbutifolia also has more (9-18 per cyme), smaller (4–7 mm across) fruits compared to those of A. prunifolia (3-10 per cyme; 8–10 mm across). The berries on A. arbutifolia remain on the shrub well into fall, whereas other chokeberries produce fruit that drops earlier in the season.

Status and Rank

US Status: No Status/Not Listed
State Status: T - Threatened (legally protected)
Global Rank: G5 - Secure
State Rank: SNR - Not ranked

Occurrences

CountyNumber of OccurrencesYear Last Observed

Information is summarized from MNFI's database of rare species and community occurrences. Data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed.

Habitat

This species occurs in the southern Lower Peninsula. Only one recent occurrence is documented in Michigan Flora, in Kent County, discovered in a wetland in 2011. Michigan Flora states that this is well outside of its known range, with the next nearest site in southern Ohio. There are unconfirmed, mostly historical records located in Berrien, Cheboygan, Emmet, Gladwin, Ionia, Iosco, Menominee, Oceana, and St. Clair counties.

The species is a wetland obligate, found in wet habitats including swamps, wet thickets, bogs, fens, and wet woods.

Natural Community Types

For each species, lists of natural communities were derived from review of the nearly 6,500 element occurrences in the MNFI database, in addition to herbarium label data for some taxa. In most cases, at least one specimen record exists for each listed natural community. For certain taxa, especially poorly collected or extirpated species of prairie and savanna habitats, natural community lists were derived from inferences from collection sites and habitat preferences in immediately adjacent states (particularly Indiana and Illinois). Natural communities are not listed for those species documented only from altered or ruderal habitats in Michigan, especially for taxa that occur in a variety of habitats outside of the state.

Natural communities are not listed in order of frequency of occurrence, but are rather derived from the full set of natural communities, organized by Ecological Group. In many cases, the general habitat descriptions should provide greater clarity and direction to the surveyor. In future versions of the Rare Species Explorer, we hope to incorporate natural community fidelity ranks for each taxon.

Associated Plants

Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum), dogwood (Cornus spp.), swamp buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus), meadowsweet (Spiraea alba), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis), cattails (Typha spp.), Viburnum spp., and prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum Americanum).

Management Recommendations

Surveys are warranted for this species to confirm reported occurrences in swamps, thickets, and bogs in the southern Lower Peninsula. This species requires conservation of habitat and regional and local protection of the hydrology.

Survey Methods

Random meander search covers areas that appear likely to have rare taxa, based on habitat and the judgment of the investigator.

  • Meander Search

    • Survey Period: From third week of March to fourth week of November

References

Survey References

  • Elzinga, C.L., D.W. Salzer, and J.W. Willoughby. 1998. Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. The Nature Conservancy and Bureau of Land Management, Denver. BLM Technical Reference 1730-1. 477pp.
  • Goff, G.F., G.A. Dawson, and J.J. Rochow. 1982. Site examination for Threatened and Endangered plant species. Environmental Management 6(4): 307-316
  • Nelson, J.R. 1984. Rare Plant Field Survey Guidelines. In: J.P. Smith and R. York. Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California. 3rd Ed. California Native Plant Society, Berkeley. 174pp.
  • Nelson, J.R. 1986. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques For Impact Assessment. Natural Areas Journal 5(3):18-30.
  • Nelson, J.R. 1987. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques for Impact Assessment. In: Conservation and management of rare and endangered plants. Ed. T.S. Elias. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 8pp.

Technical References

  • Brand, M. 2010. Aronia: Native shrubs with untapped potential. Arnoldia 67:14–25.
  • Gleason, H. A. 1958. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, vol. 2. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  • Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden.
  • Hardin, J. W. 1973. The enigmatic Chokeberries. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 100:178–184.
  • Pankhurst, R. J. 1993+. Aronia arbutifolia. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 25+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 9. <http://floranorthamerica.org/Aronia_arbutifolia>. Accessed 21 December 2023.
  • Reznicek, A. A., E. G. Voss, and B. S. Walters. 2011. Aronia arbutifolia (L.) Pers. Michigan Flora Online. University of Michigan. Web. <https://www.michiganflora.net/record/2886>. Accessed 21 December 2023.
  • Ryskamp, M. P. and D. P. Warners. 2012. Relic or recruit? Newly discovered Aronia arbutifolia (Ell.) Pers. (Red Chokeberry) in Kent County raises questions regarding past and future distributions. The Michigan Botanist 51:3.
  • Voss, E. G. 1985. Michigan Flora. Part II. Dicots (Saurauraceae – Cornaceae). Bulletin of the Cranbrook Institute of Science No. 59 and University of Michigan Herbarium.