Rosa x damascena

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Spice, Flowers, Petals, Seeds

Young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked; they are best used while still red-coloured and should be peeled before eating. The petals are cooked and are the source of attar of roses and rose water, used to flavour drinks, sweets, baked goods, and ice cream, and can also be made into jam. The fruit, about 25mm in diameter, can be eaten raw or cooked, though it has only a thin layer of flesh around many seeds — care should be taken when eating it (see known hazards). The leaves are used as a seasoning. Seeds are a good source of vitamin E and can be ground into a powder to mix with flour or use as a food supplement; always remove the seed hairs before use.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in lime soils.

Asia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Balkans, Bulgaria, Canada, Caucasus, Cyprus, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Israel, Lebanon, Mediterranean, Middle East, Myanmar, North America, Pacific, Rotuma, SE Asia, Serbia, Turkey, Türkiye,

How to Identify

A shrub. It grows 1-2 m tall. The stems are robust with prickles that curve back. The leaves are alternate and have short stalks. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk and one at the end. The leaves are 7-15 cm long by 5-9 cm wide. There are 5-9 leaflets. These are oval and 2-7 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The leaves have scattered prickles underneath. The flowers occur in groups of 3-8. They are usually red.

Nutrition Score: 50/100

How to Grow

Succeeds in most soils, preferring a circumneutral soil and a sunny position. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Dislikes water-logged soils. The plant resists frost. A very ornamental plant, the flowers are very fragrant. This species is commonly cultivated for its essential oil. It is a parent of many varieties of perpetual-flowering garden roses. Grows well with alliums, parsley, mignonette and lupins. Garlic planted nearby can help protect the plant from disease and insect predation. Grows badly with boxwood. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Propagation: Rose seed often takes two years to germinate, as it may need a warm period after a cold one to mature the embryo and reduce the seedcoat. One way to shorten this is to scarify the seed and place it in damp peat at 27–32°c for 2–3 weeks until imbibed, then hold it at 3°c for 4 months until germination begins. Seed harvested green — fully developed but not yet dried on the plant — and sown immediately may germinate in late winter, though this method had not been fully tested as of 1988. Seed sown fresh in a cold frame sometimes germinates in spring but may take 18 months. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible after 6 weeks stratification at 5°c, and may still take 2 years. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough; plant out in summer if over 25cm tall, otherwise overwinter in a cold frame and plant out in late spring. Half-ripe heel cuttings taken in July in a shaded frame, overwintered and planted out in late spring, give a high success rate. Pencil-thick shoots of mature current-season wood, 20–25cm long, taken in early autumn and placed in a sheltered spot or cold frame, take up to 12 months to establish but succeed at a high rate. Suckers divided during dormancy can be planted directly into permanent positions. Layering takes 12 months.

Medicinal Uses

The petals are applied externally as an astringent and can be made into a preserve used as a tonic to help with weight gain. The buds are aperient, astringent, cardiac and tonic, and are used to remove bile and cold humours. The fruit is very rich in vitamins A, C and E, flavonoids, and other bio-active compounds, and is a good source of essential fatty acids — unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated for its potential to reduce cancer incidence and to halt or reverse tumour growth.

Other Uses

An essential oil extracted from the flowers is widely used in perfumery and as a flavouring. Every 1000g of flowers yields 0.5g of oil.

Deciduous shrub growing to 1.5m tall. Hardy to UK zone 4. Flowers June to July. Insect-pollinated hermaphrodite and self-fertile. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage; grows in mildly acid to basic pH. Adapts to semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.

Notes

There are about 150 Rosa species and many cultivated varieties.

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