Rosa majalis

What to Eat

Edible parts: Flowers, Fruit, Seeds, Stem

The fruit, about 15mm in diameter, can be eaten raw or cooked and is rich in sugars, containing up to 5.5% vitamin C by dry weight. Only a thin layer of flesh surrounds the many seeds, and care should be taken when eating the fruit regarding the known hazards. The petals are used in making jam. 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. Young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked and are used in spring.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

In Kazakhstan it grows in meadows and river valleys.

Asia, Australia, Central Asia, Europe, Kazakhstan, Russia, Scandinavia, Siberia,

How to Identify

A shrub. It grows from 20 cm to 2 m high. The bark is bright brown-red on the thin branches. The thorns are curved and usually in pairs. The leaves are thin and compound with 3-7 oval leaflets. The flowers are pink and usually occur singly. They are 3-6 cm across. The fruit are smooth and 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 according to one report whilst another says that it succeeds in wet habitats. 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. Suckers freely. 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 keep 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, yield 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 normally succeed at a high rate. Suckers can be divided during dormancy and planted directly into permanent positions. Layering takes around 12 months.

Medicinal Uses

The fruit of many members of this genus is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamins A, C and E, flavanoids and other bio-active compounds. It is also a fairly good source of essential fatty acids, which is unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated as a food capable of reducing the incidence of cancer and as a means of halting or reversing cancer growth.

Other Uses

An orange dye is obtained from the fruit.

Rosa majalis (syn. R. cinnamomea sensu L. 1759, non 1753; R. cinnamomea auct. non L.; cinnamon rose; double cinnamon rose) is a species of deciduous shrubs in the genus Rosa, native to forests of Europe and Siberia. It grows to 2 m. and yields edible hip fruits rich in vitamin C, which are used in medicine and to produce rose hip syrup. It is native to Siberia and northern Europe. Its European distribution encompasses much of European Russia, the Baltic countries and Scandinavia (without Denmark), with more isolated occurrences in Central Europe, primarily in wet habitats in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and the Alps. It has a history of cultivation in gardens, which in Britain dates to the 16th century. The binomial name Rosa majalis and its synonym Rosa cinnamomea are both ambiguous and have variously been applied to other species of Rosa.

Notes

There are about 150 Rosa species and many cultivated varieties. The fruit are rich in vitamins.

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