Species of the subgenus have a single winter bud per axil.

[1][note 1] The flowers are usually in small corymbs or umbels of several together (occasionally solitary, e.g. P. serrula), but some species have short racemes (e.g. P. maacki).

[1] The subgenus is native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with two species in North America (P. emarginata and P. pensylvanica), four in Europe (P. avium, P. cerasus, P. fruticosa and P. mahaleb), two in North Africa (P. avium and P. mahaleb), and the remainder in Asia.

The fruits of some species such as sour cherry are used to make desserts, sauce, jam and wine.

Many species are cultivated as an ornamental tree, known as cherry blossoms.