Rosacee—Rosa. 149 
simple style and stigma projecting beyond the mouth of the 
tube. The ripe fruit of the Rose, consisting of many 1-seeded 
carpels within a more or less fleshy tube, is analogous m or- 
ganic structure to the inferior fruit of the Pomdcee. 
Roses are woody erect or more or less climbing or trailing 
thorny shrubs, generally spreading by suckers from the roots, 
with compound stipulate leaves, excepting one species, FR. 
berberidifolia, which has simple or reduced leaves, and is con- 
sidered by some botanists as forming the type of a distinct 
genus. The leaves of the majority of the species are 
deciduous; but some retain their foliage so far into the winter 
as to entitle them to be classed with evergreen shrubs. 
The flowers of Roses present us with an endless variety of 
tints, ranging from pure white to dark purple, though no 
variety or species is known with scarlet flowers, and there is 
not the slightest approach to blue, nor is it likely that culti- 
vators will ever succeed in producing a variety of that colour. 
By way of compensation, however, we have many bright yellow 
species, from which, by variation and skilful crossing with other 
colours, some of the most delicate salmon, flesh, cream, and 
other shades have been obtained. Another, though rare, varia- 
tion in the colouring of Roses is seen in some striped sorts, 
where white and carmine or lilac are combined; but hitherto 
the yellow ones have not shown this peculiarity. 
A very important quality possessed by most if not all species 
of Roses under cultivation is to become more or less double by 
the transformation of the stamens into petals. This tendency 
seldom exhibits itself when the plant is in its wild state, but 
nothing is more frequent when the plant is transferred to a 
richer soil. In most instances the transformation of the stamens 
is only partial, but occasionally total, causing the flowers to 
become. barren, unless fecundated by foreign pollen, for the. 
disappearance of stamens does not necessarily involve the 
absence of ovaries. According to the degree of this transfor- 
mation Roses are termed semi-double, doukke, or very double 
or full. And the fuller or more double a rose is, the greater is 
its value from a horticultural point of view, though in reality 
it is a monstrosity. 
At the present time upwards of thirty botanical species 
are known, all belonging to the northern hemisphere—from 
Kamtschatka and apa to the western shores of Europe, and 
in smaller numbers from North America. No species is known 
