Rosa x beanii

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, though it has only a thin layer of flesh surrounding numerous seeds — care should be taken when eating it (see known hazards). The seeds are a good source of vitamin E and can be ground into a powder to mix with flour or add to other foods as a nutritional supplement. Always remove the seed hairs before use.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Asia, Britain, China, Europe,

How to Identify

A spreading shrub. It has loose clusters of flowers. They are pink. The inner petals are narrow and ragged.

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 rather tender species, it is best grown on a wall in Britain. 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. A hybrid species, there is enormous confusion over its origins, some botanists believe that it is R. multiflora x R. laevigata or R. banksiae, others believe that it is R. banksiae x R. moschata. 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 require a warm period following a cold one to mature the embryo and soften 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 keep 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 to germinate. 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 planted in a sheltered spot or cold frame, take up to 12 months to establish but succeed at a high rate. Suckers can be divided during dormancy and planted straight into permanent positions. Layering takes 12 months.

Medicinal Uses

The fruit is rich in vitamins A, C and E, flavonoids, and other bio-active compounds, and is also a good source of essential fatty acids — an unusual quality for a fruit. It has antiphlogistic and blood tonic properties and is being investigated both for its potential to reduce cancer incidence and as a means of halting or reversing tumour growth.

Other Uses

None known.

Deciduous shrub hardy to UK zone 7. Flowers June to July. Bee-pollinated hermaphrodite. 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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