[9] Native Americans of the West coast tribes had several uses for osoberry, serving purposes such as medicine, food, and tools.

Osoberry is a deciduous[11] and perennial[9] shrub that can reach an age of 50 years and grow to be 7 meters (23 ft) tall.

[12] The light green leaves of osoberry are simple, alternating, and oblong, with a length of 5.1–13 cm (2–5 in).

[13] Osoberry grows racemes of small white flowers that have 5 separate pistils, which can develop into a drupe.

[15] The plum fruit of osoberry begin as reddish pink and deepen to a deep blue color as they ripen.

Many animals eat osoberries, primarily birds, along with small mammals, coyotes, foxes, deer, and bear.

[14] On the other hand, the reproductive biomass of female individuals is largely made up of the fruit set.

A fossil species is known from the genus, Oemleria janhartfordae from the Eocene Klondike Mountain Formation.

Rosaceous flower fossils found in Northeastern Washington state show that Oemleria was present in the early Eocene of western North America.

[10] Osoberry are found in the Pacific Northwest, ranging from Northern California to Southwestern British Columbia.

[9] Osoberry flowers bloom and leaves bud in the late winter to early spring.

[9] The Pacific coast tribes utilized its fruit, twigs, and bark, as food sources and for teas and medicine.

[15] The Indigenous peoples of the Americas included osoberry in their diets, making tea of the bark.