The tree is 4-10 m tall (up to 15 m according to some sources. The bark is brown-reddish or golden-brown, shiny, "shaggy" on adult trunks, peeling off with thin plates. The shoots are erect, sometimes pubescent; the leaf arrangement is regular. The leaves are simple with a sharp tip and serrated edges, pubescent, oval or elliptical and egg-shaped; the glands are dotted. The inflorescence is racemose. The flowers are white, up to 1 cm in size, with five petals. Fruits — drupe, berry; the color of the fruits is red (if unripe), purple, purple (mature fruits), also black, edible. Bones with a wrinkled surface, 2-3 mm in diameter. Blooms in late May-early June: the fruits ripen in late July — August.