Prunus pensylvanica grows as a shrub or small tree, usually with a straight trunk and a narrow, round-topped crown.

The fruit are drupes, ranging from 4–8 millimetres (1⁄8–3⁄8 in), each with a single seed 4–6 mm (3⁄16–1⁄4 in) in diameter contained within a hard "stone".

Nonetheless, they have adapted as a species by the establishment of their seed banks which are protected from the most severe heat by their soil cover and fed by the nutrients in the resultant ash residue.

Combined with the rapid initial growth of seedlings, these characteristics enable groupings of pin cherry thickets to dominate many burned-over areas, particularly in the northern hardwood forest.

[9] Pin cherry wood is light, moderately soft, porous, and low in strength giving it little commercial value.

It occurs in abundance, however, over a wide range of sites and produces large quantities of biomass in a relatively short time.