LEAVES.—Alternate, simple, 2-5 inches long, about one-half as broad; oval or oblong to oblong-lanceolate; finely serrate, with teeth incurved; subcoriaceous; dark green and very lustrous above, paler beneath, glabrous both sides; petioles short, slender, usually bearing 2 red glands near the blade.
FLOWERS.—May-June, when the leaves are half grown; perfect; 1/4 inch across; borne on slender pedicels in many-flowered, loose racemes 4-5 inches long; calyx cup-shaped, 5-lobed; petals 5, white; stamens 15-20; stigma thick, club-shaped.
FRUIT.—August-September; a globular drupe, 1/3-1/2 inch in diameter, nearly black, with dark purple, juicy flesh; slightly bitter, edible.
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud about 1/4 inch long, ovoid, blunt to acute; scales keeled on the back, apiculate, light brown.
BARK.—Twigs and branches red to red-brown; young trunks dark red-brown, smooth; blackish on old trunks and rough, broken into thick, irregular plates; bitter, aromatic.
WOOD.—Light, rather hard, strong, close- and straight-grained, light brown or red, with thin, yellow sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.—Frequent in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, rare in the northern half and the Upper Peninsula.
HABITAT.—Prefers a rich, moist soil, but grows well on dry, gravelly or sandy soils.
NOTES.—Grows very rapidly in youth.