The leaves are more-or-less ovate in shape with a very short petiole (stalk).

One or two open flowers are borne at the ends of stems; they have greenish white tepals which are 1.5 to 2 cm (0.59 to 0.79 in) long.

Flowering is in late spring to early summer (May to June in the northern hemisphere).

Black berries around 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter appear a few months later.

[2] Plants grow in woodland or on grassy slopes at altitudes up to 600 m (2,000 ft) in northeastern China, eastern Russia, Japan, and Korea.