black chokeberry

Aronia melanocarpa · Rosaceae · all Aronia records · Wikipedia

Fire-resistant. Recommended by 3 independent evidence lineages with no objection on record across 8 cited sources. This status is computed from the cited evidence by the published rule, never hand-assigned. The page keeps its cited source rows visible for readers and separates each evidence channel from the computed result on this record.

▲ the PNW-590 regional list ▲ the Eastern US Fire Performance Plant Selector ▲ Michigan's E2948 list ◆ the Idaho Firewise field scores · fire-tested

Computed class: Fire-resistant (consensus) — derived from the cited evidence by a published rule, never hand-assigned. Each chip above is one independent primary-evidence lineage and its direction. No plant is fireproof; condition and placement govern. Zone 0 is hardscape regardless.

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Form: shrub
Mature height: ~6 ft
Rated in: Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia; Michigan / Great Lakes; OR/WA/ID; Ohio / Midwest +4

On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions
Fire ecology context
Placement evidence: 4 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia; Michigan / Great Lakes; OR/WA/ID; Ohio / Midwest; Pacific Northwest (Oregon / Washington / Idaho); Virginia / Mid-Atlantic; eastern US; southern Idaho / Intermountain
Maintenance

Typed publication scope: 8 scopes across 6 cited fire sources

Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database · Official scoped edition
- Southern Idaho (ID footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2013-11-08
  The official database labels itself "For Southern Idaho" and describes Idaho residents at the urban-rangeland interface. FireApproved publishes 419 existing plant owners that cite its scored rows. This bounded Southern Idaho scope is regional context, not statewide coverage or a conclusion that the score transfers unchanged to every Idaho site.
Firewise Landscaping Plants (Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia editions) · Official scoped edition
- MD; partial normalized coverage · 2015-01-08
  Maryland Forest Service says the list contains plants that can be grown in Maryland and identifies Maryland natives. FireApproved publishes 169 exact source owners from the 180 printed rows; an unrepresentable form and duplicate-owner rows are not broadened. The list calls itself non-comprehensive and does not establish suitability for every Maryland site.
- NJ; partial normalized coverage
  New Jersey DEP publishes a state edition saying the listed plants can be grown in New Jersey and are relatively resistant to fire. Its same 180 printed taxon occurrences map to the 169 conservative owners already normalized for the template family. The list is non-comprehensive and does not establish suitability for every New Jersey site or override the Pinelands Commission's separate placement and fuel-break rules.
- WV; partial normalized coverage · 2026-08-26
  West Virginia Division of Forestry publishes a state edition saying the listed plants can be grown in West Virginia and are relatively resistant to fire. Its same 180 printed taxon occurrences map to the 169 conservative owners already normalized for the template family. The list is non-comprehensive and provides no comparative or site-specific rating.
Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948) · Official scoped edition
- MI; partial normalized coverage · 2007-01-01
  Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E2948 is explicitly a list of wildfire-resistant landscape plants for Michigan and includes a Michigan-native field. FireApproved publishes 221 exact GBIF owners from 226 represented source rows and holds 15 complex or non-exact rows. This dated publication scope is not a current site-suitability determination.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) · Official scoped edition
- OH; partial normalized coverage · 2006-03-01
  Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.
Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes (PNW 590) · Official scoped edition
- ID, OR, WA; partial normalized coverage · 2023-10-01
  The October 2023 joint Pacific Northwest Extension publication explicitly names Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and publishes more than 150 plant profiles. FireApproved has normalized 155 exact plant records from the source; publication scope does not assert that every listed plant suits every site within the three states.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) · Official scoped edition
- VA; partial normalized coverage · 2009-04-15
  Virginia Cooperative Extension's publication opens with Virginia wildfire conditions, identifies its Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force, and labels plants native to Virginia. FireApproved publishes 306 exact source owners. Publication scope does not establish parcel suitability or current endorsement of this archived 2009 list.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV.
Native range: Current cited native range in AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV.
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness: 3 applicable cited hardiness ranges have no shared zone; no primary zone is projected.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

30

exact source areas

Current introduced

0

exact source areas

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

30 native source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Alabama (AL)
Arkansas (AR)
Connecticut (CT)
District of Columbia (DC)
Delaware (DE)
Florida (FL)
Georgia (GA)
Iowa (IA)
Illinois (IL)
Indiana (IN)
Kentucky (KY)
Massachusetts (MA)
Maryland (MD)
Maine (ME)
Michigan (MI)
Minnesota (MN)
Missouri (MO)
North Carolina (NC)
New Hampshire (NH)
New Jersey (NJ)
New York (NY)
Ohio (OH)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode I. (RI)
South Carolina (SC)
Tennessee (TN)
Virginia (VA)
Vermont (VT)
Wisconsin (WI)
West Virginia (WV)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record aronia-melanocarpa · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 4 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Aronia melanocarpa · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.
Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948) · record shrub:Aronia melanocarpa · New, January 2007 · as of 2026-08-26

3–8 explicit range · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Aronia melanocarpa · exact match.

Source location: Table 1, shrub row.
Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes (PNW 590) · record shrubs:Black chokeberry · 2023-10 · as of 2026-08-26

3–9 explicit range · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Aronia melanocarpa · exact match.

Source location: Black chokeberry profile, USDA hardiness zones field.
USDA PLANTS Database — Plant Characteristics · record ARME6 · PLANTS Help Document 2022; characteristics cache retrieved 2026-08-23 · as of 2026-08-26

Minimum 9a · no upper limit documented · half zone precision · derived containing band

Exact source measurement: 24°F; mapped only to its containing half-zone.

Source taxon: Aronia melanocarpa · source identifier match.

Source location: PlantCharacteristics record 88782, Temperature, Minimum (°F).

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 2 — 5–10 ft from the structure; maintained lawn or fuel breaks, with easily ignited evergreens avoided [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (with its recommendation)
Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database: plantable at 50' from home [Idaho minimum planting distance] (mid-scale rating)
Fire-resistant plant profile galleries: Black chokeberry — Aronia melanocarpa [osu-2023-shrubs-gallery] (with its recommendation)
Firewise Landscaping Plants: Deciduous Shrubs [Maryland Firewise plant-form tables] (with its recommendation)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Recommends (7)

Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes (PNW 590) — OSU + WSU + University of Idaho Extension (joint PNW series) · 2023 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: pnw590-tree

“listed fire-resistant”
Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“Firewise (1)”

Outstanding red and orange fall color-fruit attracts birds.
Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) — Ohio State University Extension (Sydnor, Steward, Kloss / Ohio DNR Division of Forestry) · 2006 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“L flammability”

Adaptable to soil type; subject to weed invasion.
Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) — Virginia Cooperative Extension / Virginia Tech (Appleton, Frenzel, Hillegass, Lyons, Steward — Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force) · 2009 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“L flammability”

Well adapted to many soil types, prefers cold climates.
Wildfire-resistant Landscape Plants for Michigan (Extension Bulletin E2948) — Michigan State University Extension (Hansen, Fernandez) · New, January 2007 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated

“considered wildfire-resistant and are recommended for Michigan’s climate”

Table 1 row: Aronia melanocarpa (Black chokeberry).
Fire-resistant plant profile galleries — Oregon State University Extension Service · November 2023 educational gallery · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: pnw590-tree

“Choose the right shrubs for your fire-resistant landscape”

The Black chokeberry profile prints Aronia melanocarpa. The gallery points to PNW 590 for complete details.

Corroboration (1 rows from 1 source)

Firewise Landscaping Plants (Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia editions) — Maryland DNR, New Jersey DEP, and West Virginia Division of Forestry · 2015 archived PDF · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: md-nj-wv-template-family

“relatively resistant to fire”

Listed as Aronia melanocarpa (Black Chokeberry). The source says listed species exhibit stronger resistance to ignition by wildfires. Source comments: Adaptable to soil type; subject to weed invasion

Mid-scale / conditional (1)

Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database — Idaho Firewise (BLM + College of Western Idaho + Idaho Botanical Garden) · original source Primary evidence Field program lineage: idaho-tree

“fire-resistance score 6 of 10” · score 6 (idaho-0-10)

Guides that discuss this plant

How to read a plant page

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia · ITIS

Aronia melanocarpa (Black chokeberry). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/aronia-melanocarpa/. Last verified 2026-08-23.