Shrub or small tree to 6 m, the twigs with white pith; lvs alternate, thin, ovate to oblong or obovate, 5-10 cm, conspicuously acuminate, pale green and minutely strigillose beneath, the lateral veins 4 or 5 on each side; petioles 8-50 mm, even on the same twig; infl usually hemispheric; sep very short or obsolete; fr blue; stone with a deep pit at the summit; 2n=20. Rich woods and thickets; Nf. and N.S. to Minn., s. to Fla., Ala., and Ark. May-July. (Svida a.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.