Aronia (black chokeberry)

Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), (Black Chokeberry) belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae) and is a medicinal plant native to north-eastern North America and southern Canada, where it grows widely in both dry and wet areas. It is a deciduous shrub 1–2.5 metres tall. Systematic cultivation of aronia in Europe and Russia began after the Second World War, once the valuable medicinal and nutritional value of its berries was recognised. On the international scale of medicinal plants (1–5), aronia is ranked in first place (grade 1).