Like all Prunus fruits, it contains a single large seed, usually called a stone, which is discarded when eating.

The species' hybrid parentage was believed to be Prunus spinosa and P. cerasifera;[4][5] however, recent cytogenetic evidence seem to implicate 2×, 4×, 6×[a] P. cerasifera as the sole wild stock from which the cultivated 6× P. domestica could have evolved.

favor a more fine-grained separation: The subspecies cross easily, so that numerous intermediate forms can be found: their sweetness and tartness may vary, their colors varying from bluish-purple to red, orange, yellow or light green.

The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: The pulp is edible[20] and usually sweet, though some varieties are sour and require cooking with sugar to make them palatable.

Their early flowering and fruiting means that they require a sheltered spot away from frosts and cold winds.