A spreading open-crowned small tree to 8 metres. Leaves shiny and hairless above, hairy beneath. Flowers white, 5 parted usually solitary15 to 20 mm appearing slightly before the leaves. Fruit 1 to 5 in a bunch, globular, 2cm, glossy pale green, finally yellow or red, slightly grooved.

A purple-leaved form (var. pissardii, 'Nigra' or 'Atropurpurea') is commonly planted as a street tree and in parks and gardens; it has pale pink to purplish flowers.

Cherry Plum has larger and more rounded leaves than Blackthorn and generally flowers earlier. It usually lacks the spines found on Blackthorn.

Green 1st year stems, no (visible) thorns, flowers with long pedicels at the same time as or before the leaves. It usually flowers a couple of weeks earlier than Blackthorn, P. spinosa.

Prunus domestica can be similar, but has a flattened stone.  P cerasifera stones are only slightly flattened.

Photograph of shoot and or fruit/fruit-stone.  It is not possible to verify this from a photo of the flowers alone

Hedgerows and woodland.

Flowers February to March.

Deciduous tree or shrub.

Occasional but widespread in most of Britain, often naturalised as it is sometimes used in hedging or found as a garden plant.

Not common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 17 of the 617 tetrads.