Roses
What are they?
The five-petalled flowers and bright red fruits are a good indicator that these plants are in the rose family (Rosaceae), along with apples, pears, plums, cherries and many other similar species. Cultivated forms of roses are extremely popular as garden plants, but native species can be very different to the big, blousy flowers of garden forms. These plants are typically woody-stemmed shrubs, sometimes scrambling through other vegetation with long, slender branches that are typically well armed with prickles - yes, it might come as a shock to learn that roses don't have thorns at all, they have prickles!
Where are they found?
This groups contains a mix of native and introduced species. Native species may be found in a range of scrubby habitats, hedgelines and woodland edge, while non-natives may be found in similar places as well as in urban environments.
Identification
Roses have offered up all sorts of problems to taxonomists for very many years and the final word may still not yet have been written. When it comes to species identification, even the experts cannot agree on how many species we might have in the UK, or even how to define the species. With this in mind, this page takes at face value the identification of the various forms recorded in East Anglia in the past and identification is largely based on current thinking at the time of writing this text - following the BSBI Roses Handbook and the 4th edition of Stace. For a firm identification, it is necessary to note details of the stem prickles, flower colour, stigma detail, details of any glandular or non-glandular hairs present on the leaves, flowers and/or fruits, plus fruit shape and colour. Roses hybridise freely and any plant not fully matching the features of the species shown below may well be a hybrid. Note that the smaller, straighter prickles found on rose stems are referred to as acicles.
Common Dog Rose Rosa canina
Native. Common and widespread on most soil types and by far the most plentiful rose in the region. Flowers June to July. A very variable species in most of its features. Flowers very variable, pink or white. Stem prickles broad-based and usually curved. All parts without glandular hairs and usually only a few non-glandular hairs on the leaves.
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Hairy Dog Rose Rosa corymbifera
Native. A rare rose, found in a few old hedges. Flowers June to July. A tall shrub with strongly curved prickles. Flowers variable shades of pink. Leaves hairy, especially on the rachis (central stem) and leaf stalk but typically with no, or very few, glands; leaflets with once-serrate margins. Fruits with strongly reflexed sepals at first, but these soon drop; the sepals having untoothed lobes. Fruit stalks mostly 15-25mm long.
Note: almost every book on the subject that you might pick up seems to have a different taxonomic treatment for this species (or hybrid/group of species), making it very difficult to be certain of its true status. It is still widely considered either a group of varieties or hybrids of Rosa canina, as R. canina var. dumetorum or R. x dumetorum or as Rosa 'Group Pubescentes'.
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Round-leaved Dog Rose Rosa tomentella
(Rosa obtusifolia) Native. Widely scattered across the region in old hedges, but rather uncommon. Flowers June to July. A medium-sized shrub, typically to no more than two metres in height. Stems with strongly curved prickles, often forming a complete 'C' on the inner edge. Flowers white. Leaves hairy, especially on the petiole and rachis (central leaf stem) and often with a few glands; leaflets with biserrate margins and broad in outline, often slightly overlapping each other. Leaf stipules with narrow, acute auricles. Fruits with strongly reflexed sepals at first, but these soon drop; the sepals having toothed lobes. Fruit stalks mostly 5-15mm long.
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Field Rose Rosa arvensis
Native. Common along old lanes, hedgerows and woodland edge on boulder clay soils. Flowers June to July. Stems typically rather slender and trailing through or over other woody plants; green with a slightly whitish bloom, becoming reddish-purple in sunny sites. Flowers white with the stigmas carried on a columnar style at the centre of the flower. Stem prickles typically rather slender and slightly curved. All parts without glandular hairs. Ripe fruits red without glandular hairs; relatively small for a rose hip and retaining the columnar style for some time after the flower has gone.
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Common Sweet-briar Rosa rubiginosa
Native. Widespread in a wide range of habitats on chalkier soils; perhaps most frequent in Breckland. Flowers June to July, 3-4cm across. Stems usually rather stiff and stout, well branched and forming a sturdy, free-standing bush. Flowers rich pink. Stem prickles strongly curved, often even hooked at the tip, with straight acicles scattered in between. Leaves, sepals and fruits all with red-tipped, glandular hairs that give the plant a wonderful apple sent. Ripe fruits red with glandular hairs.
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glandular hairs |
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Small-flowered Sweet-briar Rosa micrantha
Native. Rather rare with a few records scattered across the region, but it may be overlooked. Flowers June to July, 2-3.5cm across. Essentially a smaller version of Common Sweet-briar but the stems have only hooked prickles and no acicles and the sepals are strongly reflexed, even in fruit. Typically for a sweet-briar, the plant is rich in apple-scented, glandular hairs.
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with glandular hairs |
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Small-leaved Sweet-briar Rosa agrestis
Native. A rare plant in the UK as a whole with a single record from East Anglia, in Norfolk. Flowers June to July, 2-4cm across. Very similar to Small-flowered Sweet-briar, including the strongly reflexed sepals. Differs in having smooth flower and fruit stalks, without glandular hairs and in having narrower leaflets.
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Harsh Downy Rose Rosa tomentosa
Native. Uncommon or rare, typically in shady locations on boulder clay. Flowers June to July. Stems rather stiff and stout, often very long and reaching well up into surrounding trees like a climber. Flowers pale pink. Stem prickles slightly curved, no acicles. Leaves, sepals and fruits all with red-tipped, glandular hairs, but without a strong apple sent. Leaves with white hairs beneath. Ripe fruits red with glandular hairs, more globose, less elongate than fruits of sweet-briars and with sepals soon falling.
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Soft Downy Rose Rosa mollis
Although native to the UK, this species is more northerly in distribution and rare reports of it from Cambridgeshire and more recently from Norfolk are likely to involve introduced individuals. Flowers June to July. Stems stiff and upright, often suckering from creeping root systems and forming shrubby growths to two metres in height. Flowers rich pink. Stem prickles straight, not curved (even on older wood), no acicles. Leaves with a good covering of white hairs on both surfaces, giving an obvious 'felted' feel. Leaf margins glandular-serrate; underside of leaflets with many translucent, stalkless glands (often hard to see amongst the hairs without a strong hand lens); stalked glands on leaf stalks, stipules, pedicels and fruits. Ripe fruits red with persistent, almost upright sepals that have red, fleshy bases.
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Dutch Rose Rosa 'Hollandica'
A hybrid of horticultural origin. Flowers June to August. Strongly resembles Japanese Rose but with rather narrower, less crinkled leaflets and smaller fruits. A hybrid with Japanese Rose as one of its parents but the other parent unknown.
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Burnet Rose Rosa spinosissima
Native but also occurring as an escape from cultivation or persisting where planted. Uncommon as a native, being confined to dry soils, most commonly on coastal sands and heaths. Flowers May to July. Stems relatively short and pliant, to a metre in height, suckering and forming low thickets in older plants. Flowers creamy white. Stem prickles straight or slightly curved, with many acicles. Leaves with more leaflets than mst other native roses, often with nine or even 11 leaflets. Ripe fruits dark blackish-purple with large, persistent sepals.
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Japanese Rose Rosa rugosa
Introduced from Eastern Asia. Popular as a garden plant for its highly scented flowers and commonly planted in hedges. Grows well in maritime climates and often found well established and forming low thickets in coastal sands and shingle. Flowers June to July. Stems densely covered in pliant prickles and acicles. Flowers white or pale to rich carmine pink, sometimes semi-double. Leaves with strongly impressed veins. Ripe fruits large, bright red, flattened at the top and bulging at the centre.
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Virginia Rose Rosa virginiana
Introduced from North America. Rare but occasionally found persisting where planted on roadsides. Flowers July to August. A much-branched, low, shrubby species, the stems with a few, strongly recurved prickles. Flowers rich pink. Leaf stipules, sepals and fruits with short, glandular hairs. Ripe fruits bright red, almost globose but flattened at the top.
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Many-flowered Rose Rosa multiflora
Introduced from Asia. Uncommon but occasionally found persisting where planted on roadsides or spreading from garden plantings. Flowers June to August. A strong-growing, much-branched, scrambling species, the stems with a few, recurved prickles. Flowers white, relatively small but carried in many-branched clusters. Leaf stipules glandular and strongly toothed. Ripe fruits orange-red, small, 6-7mm across. Garden forms with double pink flowers are sometimes found on roadsides or in hedgelines.
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Red-leaved Rose Rosa ferruginea
(Rosa glauca) Introduced from mainland Europe. Noted a few times where naturalised in grassy places. Flowers May to June. A much-branched, shrubby species. Flowers rich pink. Leaves reddish at first, becoming bluish-purple and stems dark reddish-purple.
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