[2][7][8] It is a deciduous tree or large shrub, growing to 2–10 m (rarely up to 12 m) tall with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter.

The tree's bark is grey-brown, with conspicuous lenticels on young stems, and shallowly fissured on old trunks.

[10][13][14] A scientific study[15] discovered an ecological dependence between the plant and four species of frugivorous birds in southeastern Spain; blackbirds and blackcaps proved to be the most important seed dispersers.

[16] Away from its native range, the species is grown as an ornamental tree for its strongly fragrant flowers, throughout temperate regions of the world.

[22] Prunus mahaleb is a likely candidate for the ḫalub-tree mentioned in early Sumerian writings, a durable fruit-bearing hardwood with seeds and leaves known for their medicinal properties and associated with the goddess Inana.

One early record in Latin is year 1317 in an encyclopedia by Matthaeus Silvaticus who wrote that the "mahaleb" is the kernel seed of the fruit of both domesticated and wild cherry trees in Arabic countries.

[26] Another early record in Latin is in a medical-botany book by Ioannis Mesuae in 1479 spelled almahaleb (where "al-" is the Arabic definite article).

[27] Today its cultivation and use is largely restricted to the region that in the 19th and earlier centuries formed the Ottoman Empire.