Trees or shrubs, the bark exuding gum. Leaves alternate, petioled, serrate, the teeth and petiole often glandular; flowers regular, perfect; calyx 5-lobed inferior, deciduous; petals 5, inserted on the calyx; stamens numerous, inserted on the petals; fruit a 1-seeded drupe.

A shrub or small tree. Leaves thick ovate or broadly oval, acute or slightly obtuse, serrulate with short teeth. Flowers ¼ of an inch or more broad, in drooping racemes at the ends of the leafy branches; drupe dark purple or black, globose, over ¼ of an inch in diameter.

In thickets in the Rockies, frequent in the vicinity of Banff; flowering in May and early June.