Viburnum opulus is a deciduous shrub growing to 13-16 ft tall. The leaves are opposite, three-lobed, 2-4 in long and broad, with a rounded base and coarsely serrated margins; they are superficially similar to the leaves of some maples, most easily distinguished by their somewhat wrinkled surface with impressed leaf venation. The leaf buds are green, with valvate bud scales.

The hermaphrodite flowers are white, produced in corymbs 2-4 in in diameter at the top of the stems; each corymb comprises a ring of outer sterile flowers with conspicuous petals, surrounding a center of small, fertile flowers; the flowers are produced in early summer, and pollinated by insects. The fruit is a globose bright red drupe 7–10 mm diameter, containing a single seed. The seeds are dispersed by birds.