ROSA AG RE ST IS 
Rosa agrestis ranges throughout central and southern Europe, 
from Ireland and Portugal to Austria; and there are varieties in Greece 
and Arabia. It is very common along the Riviera, extending from 
Albenga to the Esterels, but is not so abundant in the mountain 
districts. It is nearly allied to Rosa micrantha Sm., and has the 
same uniform hooked prickles, but it differs from that species mainly 
in the smaller size of all its parts, its very cuneate-based leaflets, and 
its naked peduncles and sepals. The line of demarcation between 
the two is sometimes difficult to draw. 
Rosa agrestis was not distinguished clearly by the pre-Linnaean 
writers, although it would seem to have been known to Plukenet and 
to the two Bauhins before the end of the seventeenth century ; and it 
is probably the “ Rosa sylvestris odorata flore albo ” of Caspar Bauhin 1 
and of Plukenet. There is a good specimen of the typical Rosa 
sepiiim from Montpellier in the herbarium of Linnaeus, but without 
a name. Burnat in his Flore des Alpes Maritimes is at much pains 
to clear up the confusion of synonymy reigning around Rosa agrestis 
and Rosa sepium. These two Roses are probably one and the same ; 
the question is in the priority of name, and on this point there must 
remain some doubt, because Thuillier only gives the year VII. of the 
Republican Calendar. Most botanists are, however, agreed that 
Savi’s name should take precedence. 
Rosa agrestis is not often found in cultivation, as it is not so 
fragrant as the ordinary Sweet Briar and has no other particular 
claim to a place in gardens. 
1 Pinax , p. 483 (1623). 
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