Shrubs,
2-4 m high; alternate, oblanceolate, 5-10 cm long, glabrous leaves entire;
flowers, imperfect, in nodding racemes, white, appearing before the leaves;
drupes purple-black; in damp to dry soil, common.
Plant has an unpleasant odor; a long section through the stem reveals
lamellae in the pith. Stream banks
and moist to dry woods.
