Shrub 1-2 m; young stems, petioles, lower lf-surfaces and infl finely stellate; petioles 1-2 cm; lvs maple-like, palmately veined, shallowly 3- lobed (rarely lobeless), 6-12 cm, coarsely toothed, basally rounded to subcordate; cymes 3-5 cm wide, mostly 7-rayed, on peduncles 3-5 cm; cor 4-5 mm wide; filaments 3-4 mm; fr purple-black, ellipsoid or subglobose, 8 mm; stone lenticular, with 3 shallow grooves on one side, 2 on the other; 2n=18. Moist or dry woods; Que. and N.B. to Minn., s. to Fla. and La. May, June.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.