This native shrub, with arching branches, grows up to 5 feet tall (A). Its small leaves are lobed and rounded; they turn a reddish-brown in the fall (E). They are usually clustered at the branch nodes and accompanied by red-brown spines (A,D,F). Image “F” shows spines on a new growth twig. The flowers are greenish-white and slim; they dangle from the twigs (B). The fruit is a spherical berry which turns from green to purple at maturity (C,D).