Rubus wardii Merr.

Shrubs or subshrubs, prostrate, low, ca. 80 cm tall. Branchlets brown or reddish brown, terete, with soft hairs, glandular hairs, and sparse, needle-like or small curved prickles. Leaves compound, 3-foliolate; petiole 4–6 cm, petiolule of terminal leaflet to 1 cm, lateral leaflets shortly petiolulate, with sparse, soft hairs, intermixed glandular hairs and needle-like prickles; stipules free, brown, 8–10 mm, palmatipartite to middle or base; lobes linear-lanceolate, soft hairy, with glandular hairs; blade of leaflets variable, terminal one rhombic-ovate, 6–10 × 4–6 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate to caudate, lateral leaflets suborbicular or ovate, ca. 1/2 as long and wide as terminal one or smaller, both surfaces soft hairy along veins, abaxially with minute prickles along veins, base obliquely rounded, margin sometimes lobed, unevenly obtusely serrate, apex acute or obtuse. Inflorescences terminal, 1-flowered, rarely flowers in clusters of 2 or 3; bracts 7–9 mm, palmatiparted; lobes linear to linear-lanceolate, with glandular hairs and soft hairs. Pedicel 3–4 cm, with soft hairs, glandular hairs, and needle-like prickles. Flowers 3–4 cm in diam. Calyx abaxially with sparse, soft hairs, glandular hairs, and needle-like prickles; sepals erect, triangular-ovate, 1.5–2(–2.5) cm × 5–8 mm, apex caudate; outer sepals usually apically laciniate; lobes linear, inner sepals sometimes entire. Petals greenish white, suborbicular or obovate, 7–9 mm in diam., much shorter than sepals. Stamens many, much shorter than petals; anthers oblong. Pistils numerous, densely glomerate; ovary densely tomentose-villous. Aggregate fruit somewhat green at maturity, globose, 1.3–2(–2.5) cm in diam., densely brownish yellow tomentose-villous, outer drupelets dry, inner drupelets fleshy; pyrenes furrowed-rugose. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.

SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, N Myanmar, Sikkim].

Mixed forests, valleys, rocky slopes; 1800--3000 m.

Rubus gigantiflorus H. Hara; R. gigantiflorus var. chiliocanthus Handel-Mazzetti; R. gigantiflorus var. pluvialis Handel-Mazzetti; R. hookeri Focke; R. macrocarpus King ex C. B. Clarke (1876), not Bentham (1844), nor Gardner (1847).