Bark: Dark gray to brown, rough and scaly.
Twigs: Slender, brown, speckled with many dots, smooth or hairy; leaf scars alternate, half-round, elevated, with 3 bundle traces.
Buds: Ovoid, pointed, reddish-brown, smooth or hairy, up to ¼ inch long.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades oval to ovate, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 4 inches long and less than half as broad, finely toothed along the edges, the teeth not glandular, green and smooth or hairy on the upper surface, paler and smooth or hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks slender, up to 1 inch long, sometimes with 1 or 2 glands near the upper end, smooth or hairy.
Flowers: Showy, several in a cluster, up to 1 inch across, with 5 white or pinkish petals, appearing before or as the leaves begin to unfold.
Fruit: Spherical or nearly so, up to 1 inch in diameter, red or covered with a whitish wax, juicy, sweet, 1-seeded.
Wood: Hard, close-grained, brown.
Uses: The fruits are used in making jelly and preserves.
Habitat: Woods, thickets.
Range: Southern Ontario to Manitoba, south to New Mexico, east to Florida.