B135 

 (leaf 2) 



serted with the numerous stamens on a disk lining the throat of the 

 calyx, or hypanthium (tube). The five outer flower parts (sepals) 

 are generally elongated, slender, and simple or variously lobed; they 

 often persist after the fruit has matured, being erect or spreading, 

 or they may be deciduous. The globose or urn-shaped hypanthium 

 is a very characteristic feature of the rose flower; at maturity it 

 becomes fleshy, forming a usually red-colored false fruit, generally 

 known as a hip, containing many hard "seeds" (achenes), which 

 have developed from the numerous, commonly hairy, long-styled im- 

 mature fruits (carpels) in the base of the hypanthium. 



Wild roses are very common on the western ranges, growing under 

 diverse conditions varying from exposed, hot, and dry situations to 

 shaded, cool, and moist places. Ordinarily, they are scattered, and 

 provide a small part of the ground cover, only forming patches or 

 thickets under especially favorable conditions. Most species, how- 

 ever, prefer moist habitats, being found chiefly in the vicinity of 

 seeps, springs, streams, and the sandy banks or flats along streams. 

 A few species extend up to over 9,000 feet elevation in Colorado, but 

 most western roses grow at low and middle elevations. As a group, 

 roses are generally regarded as poor to fair forage for cattle but 

 fairly good for sheep. In the Intermountain region, in Montana, 

 and possibly elsewhere, they are commonly rated as good for sheep. 

 Although browsed season-long, the tendency is to use these plants 

 most heavily in the late summer and fall. Deer and elk consume 

 roses rather generally, sometimes browsing them severely, especially 

 on the winter range. Apparently, the thorny character of the stems 

 does not materially hamper the use of the foliage, as instances of 

 close grazing or overuse are common on heavily grazed ranges. 



The two species, Fendler rose (R. fend'leri) and bald-hip rose (R. 

 gymowcar' pa} , shown in the accompanying illustration, as well as 

 several others, are either widely distributed or occur in local abun- 

 dance, or both, and deserve individual treatment. Fendler rose is 

 commonly a thorny shrub 2 to 3 feet in height, with usually 5 to 7 

 thin dark green leaflets, and showy pink or rose-colored flowers, 

 which usually are several and clustered. It is widely distributed, 

 growing in the middle and higher elevations in the mountains from 

 Montana and South Dakota to western Texas and Arizona, and south 

 into Mexico. This shrub occurs mainly in open woods, on fertile and 

 moist soils, and is frequently associated with willows, aspen, service- 

 berry and various oaks. Dayton reports * that 



this rose is one of the most important browse species of the genus. Its mod- 

 erate size is conducive to full utilization and may sometimes subject it to 

 injury. It is ordinarily cropped only moderately, but occasionally closely, by 

 both cattle and sheep. 



Bald-hip rose, one of the commonest species in the Northwest, oc- 

 curs from Vancouver Island and southern British Columbia to west- 

 ern Montana, Idaho, and central California. It is a slender, weak- 

 stemmed shrub up to 10 feet in height and usually has solitary flow- 



* Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931 



