Shrub with upright and dense crown, which can also be shaped as a small tree. The evergreen leaves are obovate or oval, 8-12 cm long and 4-6 cm wide, borne on red stalks, initially red and then green with red nuances. Flowers in May with small white flowers grouped in wide clusters.  Produces round fruits from the end of the summer to the end of the autumn, red initially, then black. Grows in every kind of soils but prefers those wet, cool and loose. It is used in dense hedges, because it whitstands all pruning. It is also cultivated in pots, and the dwarf variety, used for low hedges, is available.