Rubus pectinellus Maxim.

Herbs or subshrubs, 8–20(–30) cm tall. Stems creeping, brown or brownish, rooting at nodes, villous, ± prickly. Leaves simple; petiole 3–6 cm, villous, with needle-like prickles; stipules free, 6–9 mm, villous, deeply digitately lobed; lobes linear-lanceolate; blade suborbicular, 2.5–4.5 × 3–5(–7) cm, venation pedate, lateral veins (1 or) 2 pairs, raised abaxially, both surfaces pilose, abaxially with needle-like prickles along veins, base deeply cordate, margin sometimes undulate-lobed or 3-lobed, unevenly dentate or doubly serrate, apex obtuse. Inflorescences 1-flowered, rarely flowers 2 or 3 in axils of apical leaves; bracts 5–8 mm, villous, palmately lobed; lobes linear-lanceolate. Pedicel 2–4 cm, villous, with needle-like prickles. Flowers to 2 cm in diam. Calyx 1.5–2 cm, abaxially villous and with needle-like prickles; tube ovoid-globose; sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, unequal in length, outer sepals broader, 0.9–1.3 cm × 6–9 mm, deeply divided or incised, inner sepals narrower, with few teeth or entire. Petals white, obovate or elliptic, 0.8–1.2 cm × 6–8 mm, glabrous, base clawed. Stamens many, much shorter than petals. Pistils shorter than stamens; apex of ovary and base of style slightly puberulous, glabrescent. Aggregate fruit red, globose, 1–1.5 cm in diam., glabrous, with reflexed sepals; pyrenes nearly smooth or somewhat rugulose. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug. 2n = 42.

Fujian, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Philippines].

Montane forests and valleys, river banks; 700--3000 m.

Rubus pectinellus var. trilobus Koidzumi.

Rubus pectinellus, commonly known as atibulnak, is a species of brambles in the rose family. It is native to Japan, southern China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. They usually grow in forests and valleys at elevations of 700 to 3,000 m (2,300 to 9,800 ft). It is also known as kobanofuyuichigo (コバノフユイチゴ) in Japanese and huáng pào (黄泡) in Mandarin Chinese. Atibulnak fruits are edible, either raw or cooked, and have a pleasant subacid flavor. The leaves are also eaten as a vegetable in the Philippines.

Atibulnak is a small trailing woody shrub, usually around 0.5 to 1 m (1.6 to 3.3 ft) long. The leaves are either heart-shaped or with three lobes and have a rough and hairy texture with serrated margins. The leaves are around 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) in diameter. They are borne alternate on the stems. Both the leaves and the stems are covered with small spines. It has white flowers around 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter. These bear fruits around 1.4 to 1.6 cm (0.55 to 0.63 in) in diameter which turn bright red when ripe.