2982 



ROSA 



ROSA 



3431. A nine-foliolate rose leaf. 



are almost equally distributed through the colder and 

 temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, in 

 Amer. extending to N. Mex., in Afr. to Abyssinia, and 

 in Asia to India. The fls. show a remarkable tendency to 

 become double, and such forms have been known and 

 cult, from time immemorial. These innumerable gar- 

 den forms, increasing 

 every year, are almost 

 exclusively of hybrid 

 origin and are there- 

 fore omitted in the 

 botanical classification 

 of the genus. 



Many attempts have 

 been made to sub- 

 divide the genus with 

 more or less satisfac- 

 tory results; the more 

 important are those by 

 A. DeCandolle, Lind- 

 ley, Regel, and Baker. 

 Nowadays the arrange- 

 ment proposed by 

 Cr6pin is considered 

 the most natural and 

 satisfactory and has 

 been followed in the 

 account given below. 

 No good general mono- 

 graph has been pub- 

 lished since Lindley's 

 " Monographia Rosa- 

 rum" (1820), except a 

 rather short one by 

 Regel in 1877. Of the 

 more recent publica- 

 tions the most important are those of Crepin, especi- 

 ally his "Primitiae Monographise Rosarum." In con- 

 sulting his publications one has to bear in mind 

 that the author changed his opinion somewhat re- 

 specting the value of the species during his studies of 

 the genus. In his later publications he takes a broader 

 view in regard to the specific value of the rose forms 

 and unites under one species many forms which he 

 formerly considered as distinct species. An illustrated 

 monograph valuable for the knowledge of the older 

 garden forms and species is Thory and Redoute's "Les 

 Roses," with 160 colored plates (1817-20). It is quoted 

 below as Red. Ros. As the first edition in folio is found 

 in only very few libraries, the smaller edition is cited in 

 parenthesis by volume, groups and the sequence of the 

 plates, neither pages nor plates being numbered con- 

 tinuously in this edition. The most recent book on 

 roses is Miss Ellen Willmott's "The Genus Rosa," with 

 about 150 excellent colored and numerous black plates; 

 in this work all the important species of roses, includ- 

 ing most of the recently introduced Chinese species 

 and the types of our cultivated garden forms, are des- 

 cribed and figured. It is quoted below as W. R. (with 

 the number of the species). 



The economic properties of the rose are of little 

 importance. The most valuable product is attar of 

 roses, a highly fragrant essential oil. It is chiefly manu- 

 factured in southeast Europe and western Asia from 

 Rosa alba and R. damascena, and of late this industry 

 has been successfully transplanted to Germany. See 

 Perfumery Gardening, page 2547. The fruits of some 

 species, especially of R. villosa and R. canina, are made 

 into preserves. 



The roses are mostly low or medium-sized shrubs, 

 usually with prickly stems, often more or less stolonif- 

 erous, sometimes climbing or creeping, with small or 

 medium-sized odd-pinnate deciduous or evergreen foli- 

 age and with mostly large and showy, solitary or clus- 

 tered flowers ranging in color from purple, crimson, or 

 pink to white and yellow, and followed by ornamental 



usually scarlet or bright red fruits remaining on the 

 branches a long time, sometimes through the whole 

 winter. There is probably no flower more popular and 

 better known than the rose. From time immemorial 

 poets have sung its praise, and the love of it can be 

 traced through the most ancient documents in the 

 literature of the Aryan race. It is remarkable to note, 

 however, that the rose has played a far inferior part 

 in the horticulture of the Chinese and Japanese. It is 

 probably the first flower known and cultivated in a 

 double state, and it is the double-flowered garden form 

 whose image the word "rose" almost invariably brings 

 to the mind, while to the wild single-flowered roses much 

 less attention has been given. The ornamental value of 

 single roses is rarely fully appreciated. The wild roses 

 have a simple charm and graceful beauty of their own. 

 No doubt the bold and dominating beauty of the double 

 roses has eclipsed the more modest attractions of the 

 single roses. The longer blooming season of the garden 

 roses is also a factor in their favor. Though the wild 

 roses cannot, perhaps, be compared with their more 

 noble sisters of the garden, they are nevertheless fully 

 able to rival other ornamental shrubs for the adorn- 

 ment of park and plot. Most of the species are hardy 

 or almost hardy North; among the hardiest are R. 

 rugosa, R. virginiana, R. Carolina, R. acicularis, R. 

 blanda, R. Woodsii, R. heliophila, R. palustris, R. rubri- 

 folia, R. pendulina, R. canina, R. cinnamomea, and R. 

 pomifera. Hardy at least as far north as Massachu- 

 setts are R. spinosissima, R. rubiginosa, R. multiflora, 

 R. Helense, R. an>ensis, R. setigera, R. gallica, R. setipoda, 

 R. omeiensis, while others, as R. Wichuraiana, R. sem- 

 pervirens, R. sericea, R. foetida, R. hemisphserica, require 

 some shelter or protection. Hardy only South are R. 

 Banksise, R. bracteata, R. chinensis, R. Isevigata, R. odo- 

 rata, R. stellata. The recently introduced species from 

 central and western China have not yet been suffi- 

 ciently tested, but a large percentage appears to be 

 hardy as far north as Massachusetts. 



According to the habit peculiar to each species, they 

 can be used for a variety of purposes. Most of the 

 species are shrubby, rarely exceeding 6 or 8 feet, and 

 may be used for borders of shrubberies or for covering 

 slopes and rocky ridges, especially R. rugosa, R. 

 Carolina, and various American species. Some kinds, 



a 6 c 



3432. Various forms of rose hips.- a, Rosa rugosa; 6, R. 

 pendulina; c, R. Carolina. (About natural size.) 



as R. rugosa and R. virginiana, make handsome orna- 

 mental hedges. The climbing species are used for cover- 

 ing walls, trelliswork, arbors, porches, or pillars, but 

 perhaps display their beauty to the most advantage 

 when allowed to ramble over shrubs or rocks. The half- 

 evergreen R. Wichuraiana makes a beautiful ground- 

 cover and may also be used for edging groups and flower- 

 beds. The fruits of most species are decorative and 



