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Wild
Rose
Common
Name(s):
Wild Rose
Woods rose
Scientific
Name:
Rosa
woodsii Lindl.
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
None known
Symbol:
SYOR2
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Cool
Growth Characteristics:
A
2 to 5 foot tall shrub, usually forming thickets. Growth starts
in early spring, flowers May to July, and reproduces from seed,
rhizomes, sprouting, and layering.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Flowers
found in clusters, with 5 petals, 5 sepals, and many stamens. White
to dark rose in color.
Fruits/Seeds:
Seeds are contained within an orange-red, round hip, which generally
stays on the bush throughout the winter.
Leaves: Alternate
leaves, leaflets odd-pinnately compound. Leaflets oval, with toothed
(serrate) margins, and upper surface of leaf shiny. Stipules are
prominent, united at base.
Stems: Twigs
are reddish-brown to gray, with straight or recurved prickles (small
thorns). The lower trunk is is red-brown, irregularly split to reveal
white inner bark underneath. Buds are red and glossy.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Wild
rose occurs on prairies, plateaus, dry slopes, and in open woods,
ravines, and thickets, growing at elevations from 3500 to 7500 feet.
It is a common riparian species. It is fairly tolerant of browsing.
It can thrive from moderate shade to full sunlight. Wild rose is
very fire tolerant, and usually survives to produce an abundance
of sprouts.
Soils: Wild
rose is adapted to a wide range of soil types and textures. Growth
is generally best on moderately fertile, well-drained clay loam,
sandy loam, or sandy soils. It is also adapted to a broad range
of moisture conditions but tends to favor moist, well-drained soils
that are present in riparian ecosystems. Wood's rose is tolerant
of moderately acid to weakly basic soils.
Associated Species:
Kentucky
bluegrass, redtop, gambel
oak, Nevada bluegrass, chokecherry,
and coyote willow.
Uses and
Management:
Wild
rose is browsed by livestock and big game from spring through fall,
preferring this shrub in the spring when the leaves appear. Porcupines
and beavers also browse the leaves.
Wild rose hips persist on the plant through much of the winter.
Many birds and mammals are sustained by these dry fruits when the
ground is covered with snow.
It produces extensive rhizomes, and has good survivability and revegetation
characteristics even on harsh sites, making this species an effective
material for erosion control.
Europeans utilized hips as a source of Vitamins A and C. Rose hip
powder was used as a flavoring in soups and for making syrup. American
Indians utilized the young shoots as a potherb. The leaves were
steeped for tea, petals were eaten raw, in salads, candied, or made
into syrup. The inner bark was smoked like tobacco, and dried petals
were stored for perfume.
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