137— ROSA ALBA, var. RU BICUN DA Roessig 
Rosa alba , var. rubicunda : a typo recedit petalis pulchre rubello-tinctis. 
R. alba , var. vubicunda Roessig, Die Rosen , No. 23 (1802-1820). 
R. incarnata Miller, Gavd. Diet. ed. 8, No. 19 (1768). — Deseglise in Bull. 
Soc. Bot. Belg. vol. xv. p. 244 (Cat. Rais. Ros. p. 75 [1877]) (1876). 
R. rubicans Roessig, Die Rosen , No. 48 (1802-1820). 
Stem tall, arching ; prickles uniform, scattered, falcate. Leaflets 7, oblong, 
obtuse, simply serrated, glabrous on the upper surface, pubescent beneath ; petioles 
pubescent, not glandular ; stipules adnate, with free, lanceolate tips. Flowers many, 
corymbose ; peduncles densely hispid. Calyx-tube turbinate, naked or hispid ; 
lobes long-pointed, pinnatifkl, glandular on the back. Petals white, beautifully 
tinged with pink. Styles free, villous, included. Fruit oblong, red ; sepals 
reflexing, deciduous. 
This Rose has been cultivated in England from time immemorial, 
and its origin is lost in the mists of antiquity. Some writers have 
regarded it as a species ; others consider it to be of garden origin. 
It has been found apparently spontaneous in the Crimea and in other 
parts of Europe, but in the case of a Rose which has been in cultivation 
for several centuries, it is impossible to decide with any degree of 
certainty whether the plant is indigenous or simply naturalized. It 
may safely be surmised, however, that it has undergone substantial 
modification by cultivation. It is in all probability the “ Incarnation 
Rose ” mentioned by T urner in 1557 ; it is certainly the Rosa incarnata 
of Parkinson, whose description in the Paradisn. s -1 corresponds in every 
respect, and it is without doubt the Rosa incarnata of Miller, for his 
type-specimen is in the herbarium of the British Museum. Roessig’s 
plates called “ Rosa albo-rubicunda plena , die J ungfrau Rose,” 2 are good 
representations of this Rose, which is probably the true Cuisse de 
Nymphe of the French, for, although many lists give both this name 
and Maideiis Blush , they are in reality the same Rose, and the former 
is the name by which it is generally known. Redoute gives, among 
the varieties of Rosa alba, a beautiful plate of this Rose, calling it “ Le 
Rosier Blanc Royal, the great Maiden’s Blush of the English.” " It 
2 Rosen, No. 23 (1802-1820). 
413 
1 P. 412 (1629). 
3 Roses, vol. i. p. 97 (1817). 
