A small shrub with felt-hairy shoots up to 200 cm high. The leaves are ovate-elliptical, dark green above, gray felt below, on short petioles. Small pink flowers are collected in corymbose brushes. Blooms in May-June. Fruits – false drupes, black with a bluish bloom, have 2-4 seeds.
It occurs in the southern part of the forest and forest-steppe zones of Western and Eastern Siberia, in the European part of the country.
It grows on chalk, calcareous and stony slopes and on stony soils in light coniferous and birch forests, along the edges of hills.
Medicinal raw materials are branches with leaves, collected during flowering.
In folk medicine, an infusion of branches and leaves (1 tablespoon per glass of boiling water, leave for 2 hours, take a quarter cup 3-4 times every day) is recommended for jaundice, dropsy, gastrointestinal disorders.
The infusion has a diuretic, choleretic, astringent effect. In Tibetan medicine, it is part of drugs for sepsis and a number of other infections.
Chemical composition: the fruits contain ascorbic acid, the leaves contain ascorbic acid and glycoside, during the splitting of which hydrocyanic acid is released. Berries are edible.