Prunus americana is a shrub or small tree that can form small groves in moist middle elevation creekbeds and riparian areas. The small umbels of flowers bloom in the spring before the plant leafs out. The bark is gray and obviously peeling away in larger trunks. The trunks can be up to 21cm in diameter. The flowers are white and the petals are about one centimeter long. The leaves are serrate and mostly glabrous.