Tall shrub or small tree to 15 m; bark foetid; lvs oblong- obovate, 5-10 cm, short-acuminate, finely and sharply toothed, racemes loose and often drooping, 8-15 cm; pedicels 10-15 mm; hypanthium pubescent within; sep ovate-oblong, 2 mm, deeply erose; pet white, elliptic, 6-10 mm; fr inedible, nearly black, 6-8 mm; stone sculptured; 2n=32. Native of Europe, now rarely cult. and occasionally established in woods, thickets, and roadsides.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
