Straggling, often thorny, colonial shrub or low tree to 4 m; lvs scarcely out of the bud at anthesis, at maturity lanceolate to oblong, 5-8 cm, gradually acute or acuminate above, acute to obtuse at base, glabrescent, sharply serrate, the teeth triangular, acuminate, 0.5-1 mm on the distal side, pedicels 5-10 mm, glabrous; hypanthium minutely puberulent or nearly glabrous; sep oblong-ovate, 2 mm, pubescent on both sides but the back often only inconspicuously so; pet white, 6-8 mm; fr dark purple, subglobose, 12 mm thick; stone turgid. Dry, rocky woods, sometimes on shale-barrens; Pa. and w. Md. to W.Va., with outlying stations to Conn., w. Va., and e. Tenn. Rare. Apr., May; before the lvs.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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