Shrub with thorns, 1-2 m tall with numerous root suckers. Leaves are simple. Lamina is short (up to 5 cm), obovata (seldom lance-shaped), dark grayish-green, glabrous or scatterelly hairy. Densely hairy on the underside. The margin is dentate or doubly serrate. Petiole length is up to 1 cm. The flowers with five petals, arranged in fascicles, white-colored. Flowering before budbreaking in March and April. The fruit is frosted, spherical, blue-black drupe. They are 1-1,5 cm long. They are edible, bitter. Stone is spherical, yellowish-brown, very often hard to separate from pulp. The surface of seeds is bumpy. Shoots: Shoots are gently grayish hairy, later hairless, shiny, dark gray. Branches transformed into thorns stick out upright. Leaf-scars are on distinguish leaf pads. Natural range: Europe (except the northern part), Asia Minor, the Caucasus, north-west Africa; our domestic.