Wild types are large shrubs or small trees reaching 8–12 metres (26–39 ft) tall, sometimes spiny, with glabrous, ovate deciduous leaves 3–7 cm (1–3 in) long.

[4] It is native to Southeast Europe[4][6][7] and Western Asia,[3][8] and is naturalised in the British Isles[4] and scattered locations in North America.

[16][17][18] These purple-foliage forms (often called 'purple-leaf plum'), also have dark purple fruit, which make an attractive, intensely coloured jam.

Cherry plums are a key ingredient in Georgian cuisine where they are used to produce tkemali sauce, as well as a number of popular dishes, such as kharcho soup and chakapuli stew.

It is a popular tree in Romania where its fruits are used for souring soups when immature, for eating raw when ripened, and for making moonshine when overripe because of their high sugar content.