Rubus chingii Hu

The specific epithet honors the collector of the type specimen, R. C. Ching, although it was misspelled “chungii” in the protologue. Hu later corrected it to “chingii” (J. Arnold. Arbor. 7: 70. 1926).

The very sweet fruit are eaten fresh and are also used for making jam, jelly, and various drinks, including wine. The fruit, roots, and leaves are used in medicine.

Shrubs lianoid, 1.5–3 m tall. Branchlets green when young, reddish brown in age, cylindric, slender, glabrous, with sparse prickles 5–6 mm and glaucous bloom. Leaves simple; petiole green, 2–4 cm, slightly pubescent or glabrous, with sparse prickles 5–6 mm; stipules green, linear-lanceolate, 7–10 mm, puberulous or glabrous; blade suborbicular, 5–11(–16) × 5–13(–18) cm, palmately (3–)5–7-veined, both surfaces pubescent or subglabrous, base cordate, margin usually palmately (3–)5(–8)-lobed; lobes elliptic to rhombic-lanceolate, terminal lobe slightly longer than lateral lobes, lobes contracted toward base, doubly serrate, apex acuminate to caudate. Inflorescences terminal on short branchlets, 1-flowered. Pedicel 2–3.5(–4) cm, usually glabrous. Flowers 2.5–4(–5) cm in diam. Calyx somewhat green or purplish red, abaxially densely pubescent; tube broadly pelviform; sepals narrowly ovate to ovate-oblong, 7–10 × 4–6 mm, apex acute to shortly acuminate, abruptly long pointed. Petals white, elliptic or ovate-oblong, rarely obovate, 1–1.5(–2.5) × 0.7–1.5 cm, glabrous, base shortly clawed, apex obtuse. Stamens many in 3 whorls, unequal in length, shorter than petals; filaments broad, complanate. Pistils numerous, shorter than longer stamens, nearly as long as shorter ones; ovary densely gray pubescent. Aggregate fruit red, subglobose, 1.5–2 cm in diam., densely gray pubescent; pyrenes rugose. Fl. Mar–Apr, fr. May–Jun. 2n = 14.

Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang [Japan].

Slopes, broad-leaved evergreen forests on hills, coniferous forests, thickets, roadsides; below 500--1000 m.