Prunus alleghaniensis is a shrub or small tree 0.91–3.66 meters (3–12 feet) tall.

The flowers are plentiful and white, eventually turning pink.

The dark reddish purple fruit is 13 millimeters (1⁄2 in) wide, with a whitish bloom.

[3] The species is native to the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Kentucky and North Carolina, plus the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

There are old reports of it growing also in New Jersey and Connecticut, but it now appears to have been extirpated in those two states.