BLACK CHOKEBERRY - Aronia melanocarpa Seeds - CRIMSON LEAVES - HIGH VITAMIN C - Zones 3 - 8 - By MySeeds.Co (1000 Seeds - 1000 Seeds) BLACK CHOKEBERRY - Aronia melanocarpa Seeds CRIMSON LEAVES - HIGH VITAMIN C - Zones 3 - 8 Black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa (Photinia melanocarpa), rarely exceeding 1 m tall, rarely 3 m, and spreads readily by root sprouts. The leaves are smaller, not more than 6-cm wide, with terminal glands on leaf teeth and a glabrous underside. The flowers are white, 1.5 cm wide, with glabrous sepals. The fruit is black, 69 mm wide, not persisting into winter. The chokeberries are attractive ornamental plants for gardens. They are naturally understory and woodland edge plants, and grow well when planted under trees. Chokeberries are resistant to drought, insects, pollution, and disease. Several cultivars have been developed for garden planting, including A. arbutifolia 'Brilliant', selected for its striking fall leaf color.A. melanocarpa 'Viking' and 'Nero' were selected for larger fruit suitable for jam-making, and because they are self-fertile only one plant is needed to produce fruit. Juice from these berries is astringent and not sweet, but high in vitamin C and antioxidants. The berries can be used to make wine, jam, syrup, juice, soft spreads, and tea. In the U.S., aronia berries are used in mass-marketed juice blends for color and marketed for their antioxidant properties. The Voruta label exports a Chokeberry wine from Lithuania. In Poland they are dried to make an herbal tea. The tea is usually a blend with other more flavorful ingredients including blackcurrant. Aronia is also used as a flavoring or colorant for beverages or yogurts. Antioxidant qualities Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) has attracted scientific interest due to its deep purple, almost black pigmentation that arises from dense contents of phenolic phytochemicals, especially anthocyanins. Total anthocyanin content in chokeberries is 1480 mg per 100 g of fresh berries, and proanthocyanidin concentration is 664 mg per 100 g. Both values are among the highest measured in plants to date. Characteristics Medicinal Wildlife Food Flowering Shrub Edible Fruit/Nuts Fall Color Crop Plant Ornamental Fruit Ground Cover Growing Info: Scarification: Soak in water, let stand in water for 24 hours. Stratification: cold stratify for 90 -120 days. Germination: sow seed 1/16" deep, tamp the soil, mulch the seed bed.