Deciduous shrub belonging to the rosaceae family. It is thorny and can reach a height of 4 m. It usually forms large thickets thanks to its dense reproduction by shoots that sprout from its roots. Its habitat is thorns, hedges and forest edges, also appears in clearings, banks, slopes, roadsides, preferably in limestone areas. In the Peninsula it appears in all regions although it is scarcer in the south and Balearic Islands.