Rosa laevigata

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds, Roots - tea

The pear-shaped fruit, up to 4cm long, can be eaten raw or cooked, though only a thin layer of flesh surrounds the many seeds. Sugar can be extracted from the fruit, and it is also used to ferment rose wine. Care should be taken when eating the fruit regarding the known hazards. The seeds are a good source of vitamin E and can be ground and mixed with flour or added to other foods as a supplement — be sure to remove the seed hairs before use.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a warm temperate plant. It grows in warm temperate and subtropical SE Asia. It suits hardiness zones 7-10. Arboretum Tasmania.

Asia, Australia, China*, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Indochina, Jamaica, Japan, North America, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Taiwan, Tasmania, USA, Vietnam, West Indies,

How to Identify

An evergreen shrub. It is climbing and has thorny stems. It grows 9 m high and spreads 6 m wide. The leaves are leathery and glossy green. They have 3-5 leaflets. There are teeth along the leaflets. The flowers are large and occur singly. They are 6-8 cm across. They are nearly flat when open. They are white or cream. They have 5 petals. They have a scent. The fruit are bristly hips that are orange-red.

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. A very ornamental plant, but it is not very hardy in Britain and only succeeds outside in the warmer parts of the country. It can be cut back to the ground even in southern England in cold winters, though it will usually resprout from the base. It is the state flower of Georgia and is also the parent of several modern garden cultivars. The flowers have a clove-like fragrance. If any pruning is necessary then this should be carried out immediately after the plant has finished flowering. 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 following a cold one to mature the embryo and reduce the seedcoat. One way to reduce this time is to scarify the seed and place it for 2–3 weeks in damp peat at 27–32°c until imbibed, then hold it at 3°c for the next 4 months until germination begins. Alternatively, green-harvested seed — fully developed but not yet dried on the plant — sown immediately may germinate in late winter, though this 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 as possible and stratified for 6 weeks at 5°c; it may take 2 years to germinate. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough, plant out in summer if over 25cm tall, or 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 mature cuttings of the current season's growth, 20–25cm long, taken in early autumn and placed in a sheltered spot or cold frame, take around 12 months to establish but usually succeed at a high rate. Suckers divided during dormancy can go directly into permanent positions. Layering takes around 12 months.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are a well-known vulnerary. The fruits, roots and leaves are emmenagogue and depurative, and their use is said to stabilize the kidneys. A decoction is used to treat chronic dysentery, urinary tract infections, wet dreams, prolapse of the uterus, menstrual irregularities and traumatic injuries. The root bark is astringent and used for diarrhoea and menorrhagia. Dried fruits are antibacterial, anticholesterolemic, astringent, carminative, diuretic and stomachic, and are taken internally for urinary dysfunction, infertility, seminal emissions, urorrhoea, leucorrhoea and chronic diarrhoea. The root is used for uterine prolapse, and the flowers are used to treat dysentery and to restore hair growth. The fruit of many members of this genus is a very rich source of vitamins A, C and E, flavanoids and other bio-active compounds, as well as essential fatty acids — unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated for its potential to reduce the incidence of cancer and to halt or reverse cancer growth.

Other Uses

The root bark contains tannin.

Rosa laevigata, or the Cherokee rose, is a white, fragrant rose native to southern China, Taiwan and Vietnam. It is an invasive species in countries including Australia, Japan and the United States. It is typically found in sunny environments such as mountain fields, field margins, and along streams, at elevations ranging from 200 to 1600 meters. In Tibet, its distribution is primarily confined to the sunny mountainous regions of southern Tibet, where it occurs at higher altitudes between 1500 and 3500 meters.

Notes

There are about 150 Rosa species and many cultivated varieties.

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