Japan Flora: Much branched, glabrous, deciduous shrub with short spurs often reduced to spines; leaves broadly to narrowly obovate, rarely orbicular-obpvate, 2-8 cm. long, 1-4 cm. wide, rounded to obtuse in smaller ones, abruptly acuminate with an obtuse tip in larger ones, long-cuneate at base, obtusely appressed-serrulate, glabrous or sparingly short-puberulous on upper side, pale green and gla­brous or thinly puberulent on nerves beneath, the lateral nerves 3 or 4 pairs, forming an acute angle with the midrib; flowers yellowish green, about 4 mm. across, fasciculate in axils of lower part of branches, the pedicels 5-15 mm. long; calyx-lobes elongate-deltoid, acute; drupe globosc-obovoid, 6-8 mm. across, glabrous, black, the stones 2 or 3, sometimes 1. Apr.-May.

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; common. The leaves are very variable in shape and in pubescence.