Deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees, often with thorns. Buds perulate. Leaves alternate, simple, petiolate, stipulate. Leaf blade usually lobed, rarely unlobed, margin serrate or crenate, rarely entire. Leaves of fertile shoots often differ from those of elongate vegetative shoots. Inflorescence a terminal corymb-shaped cyme or thyrse, flowers rarely solitary. Flowers 5-merous, bisexual. Hypanthium open, obconical to campanulate. Sepals persistent, rarely caducous. Petals white, pink or red, orbicular to obovate. Stamens 5-25, inserted on a disc-like rim. Stylodia1-5(-6), terminal. Carpels pubescent, lower part dorsally adnate to hypanthium. Ovules 2 per carpel, basal. Fruit a pome, ± globose, yellow, orange, red, purple or black, flesh juicy to dry and mealy, rim of hypanthium persistent at apex, hypostyle (free, apical part of the pyrenes) glabrous or pilose. Pyrenes 1-5(-6), thick-walled, 1-seeded. Seed with thin testa.

A genus of 100-200 species, distributed in northern temperate regions and Central America; represented in Pakistan by 4 species.