Happy New Year, Dr. Hill,
This large shrub or small tree is growing in the middle of dappled-sun woods in the SC Fall Line region. It isn’t very large and was growing pinned to the ground by a fallen tree so I don’t know what its “normal” shape might have been. The photo of the red berries was taken in early December.
Hi Diane, and thank you!
This shrub appears to be Aronia arbutifolia, the red chokeberry. It varies a lot in height and number of berries on each plant. The ones growing in full sun are usually shorter and have more berries than the ones in the woods.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Steve Hill, Botanist, SCNPS