Large shrub, to 13 feet tall. Leaves large, opposite each other, composed of 5 to 11 leaflets, each leaflet elliptical and coarsely-toothed. Flowers small, with 5 white petals in dense, flat-topped clusters. Blooms in early summer. Fruits small purple-black berries in fall.

Native shrub of moist places. In Wildwood found near the entrance wetland.

A number of shrub species in Wildwood have somewhat similar flower clusters, but all have simple leaves, not made of leaflets. White ash has somewhat similar opposite leaves, but it is a tall tree with samaras instead of berries.