ROSA MOSCHATA 
as Rosa Brimonii of Linclley (var. nepalensis) and Rosa Pissarti of 
Carriere (var. nastier ana Christ). A great many well-known garden 
roses are moschata hybrids, such as the Noisettes, Rosa mvea Don, and 
probably Rosa damascena Mill. There is also a fine hybrid between 
Rosa moschata and Rosa sempervirens L. 
Rosa moschata is the Musk Rose so beloved of our ancestors, and 
the old writers speak of it with affection. Its introduction into England 
is given by Hakluyt, who, writing in 1599, sa Y s that “the Artichowe 
was brought in the time of King Henry the Eight, and of later time 
was procured out of Italy the Muske Rose Plant,” 1 so it may rank as 
an Elizabethan plant. All the varieties are easily known by the central 
column of styles, which are more united in the Musk Roses than in 
any other of the Systylae ; and the rigid foliage, strongly pinnate in 
feeling, together with the forcibly defiexed petals, are characters which 
must be regarded as vital to a proper conception of the species. The 
scent is not pleasant to all, though Bacon reckoned it as the sweetest 
smell in the air next to the violet. At times, and indeed generally, 
Rosa moschata is almost scentless ; but in certain states of the atmo- 
sphere it is more or less fragrant, and undoubtedly the scent is strongest 
at night. The plant is very easily propagated by cuttings. 
In an unpublished diary Sir George Watt thus describes the Rose 
as he has met with it in the Himalaya : 
“ This is by far the most obvious and most characteristic Rose of the Himalaya. 
It climbs over the bushes by the wayside and over the small trees of the forest. It 
thus produces dense rounded masses which when in bloom look like patches of 
snow. Its bright flowers are the delight of bird and bee, and they perfume the air 
in a manner few people could realize who have not lived in the invigorating atmo- 
sphere of the early months of summer on the outer ranges of these mountains. And 
yet a bunch in the hand is overpowering rather than pleasant. But the western 
Himalaya without the musk rose would be without half their charm.” 
Redoute 2 and Miss Lawrance 3 figure a double form. Andrews 
figures var.pl. pi} and var. carnea. 5 
Rosa poly ant ha, var. grandiplora (see accompanying plate) was 
raised by Bernaix from seed obtained from Rosa moschata. Some 
doubt, however, exists as to its origin. Crepin, who at first regarded 
it as a mere variety of Rosa moschata , 6 afterwards came round to the 
opinion of M. Viviancl MoreE that it was a hybrid having Rosa 
multiplora Thunb. for one of its parents. He considered that the 
influence of this Rose was shown in the ciliated bracts and stipules, in 
the somewhat pyramidal inflorescence and in the shortly ovoid buds. 
He was not, however, convinced that the other parent was Rosa 
moschata , as M. Viviancl Morel believed, but thought it equally likely 
to be Rosa sempervirens L. 8 
1 Principal Navigations . . . ed. 2, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 165 (1599). 2 Poses, vol. i. p. 99 (1817). 
3 Poses, t. 53 (1799). 4 Roses, vol. ii. t. 94 (1828). 5 lb. t. 95. 6 Journ. des Poses , 1891, p. 42. 
7 Lyon Horticole , No. 17 (Sept 15, 1891). 8 Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg. vol. xxxiii. pt. i, pp. 120, 12 1 (1894). 
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