ROSA DAMASCENA 
Parkinson’s Paradisus 1 has the following account of “ Rosa 
Da masccna, the Damaske Rose ” : 
“ The Damaske Rose bush is more usually noursed up to a competent height 
to stand alone (which we call standards) than any other Rose : the barke both of 
the stocke and branches, is not fully so greene as the red or white Rose : the 
leaves are greene with an eye of white upon them, so like unto the red Rose, that 
there is no great difference between them, but that the leaves of the red Rose seeme 
to bee of a darker greene. The flowers are of a fine deepe blush colour, as all know, 
with some pale yellow threds in the middle, and are not so thicke and double as 
the white, nor being blowne, with so large and great leaves as the red, but of the 
most excellent sweet pleasant sent, far surpassing all other Roses as Flowers, 
being neyther heady nor too strong, nor stuffing or unpleasant sweet, as many 
other flowers.” 
Sir James Smith, writing of the Damask Rose in Rees’ Encyclo- 
paedia , 2 says : 
“ Native of the South of Europe, and cultivated time out of mind, in our 
gardens, flowering in June and July. The specific name seems to have originated 
with Lobel, and indicates that this species of Rose came from Damascus. Perhaps 
it may be what is reported to have been brought from Syria by a Comte de Brie, 
at his return from the Crusades, of which the Abbe Rozier speaks in his Cones 
Complet if A gvicultnre ; though that author’s description accords with the common 
R. gallica, and not with our damascena, and he calls it moreover R. pvovincialis. 
We cite Rozier to shew that some particular sort of Rose was brought from Syria 
to France ; but whether it might be our damascena, or the moschata hereafter 
mentioned, which many old authors have termed damascena, and which is certainly 
an oriental Rose ; we have not materials even to form a conjecture. The damask 
Rose is proverbially sweet, nor can any be more so than the species now under our 
consideration, which forms a bush four or five feet high. The usual colour of the 
flowers is a delicate uniform pink, verging rather towards purple than scarlet, and 
their fragrance is deliciously sweet as well as lasting.” 
Loiseleur Deslongchamps 3 says there is no evidence to prove 
the story of its introduction by the crusaders from Syria, and he thinks 
it more likely that it had existed in F ranee from the earliest times and 
was the plant whose virtues were extolled by Homer in the Iliad ’, but 
he brings forward no more proof of his statement than did the Abbe 
Rozier of his. The Romans doubtless had gardens to their villas in 
Gaul, and probably grew some form of Rose which may or may 
not have been the twelve-petalled Milesian mentioned by Pliny and 
generally identified as the Damask Rose. The subject is interesting, 
but it is of course entirely conjectural. 
Olivier de Serre devotes Chapter X. of the Theatre d' Agriculture 
(1600) to a consideration of the Roses at that time known in France. 
“ Commen^ant par les arbustes, les plus remarquables sont les Roziers, 
distingues entre quatre principales esp£ces : une de rouge, autres d’incarnates ou 
escarlatines, et deux de blanches . . . l’autre est la Damasquine ou musquate, 
ainsi dicte pour sa prdcieuse senteur. . . . Touchant les sauviages, appelees 
canines, de plusieurs esp^ces sen trouvent-ils, par les haies et buissons, qui ont de 
la valeur : sur toutes lesquelles, les esglantines emportent le prix, approchant des 
Damasquines.” 
1 P. 413 (1629). 2 Vol. xxx. (1819). 
371 
3 Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles. 
