The Roses

The China roses were grown in East Asia for thousands of years and finally reached Western Europe in the late 1700s. Compared to the aforementioned European rose classes, the China roses had smaller, less fragrant, more poorly formed blooms carried over twiggier,

more cold-sensitive shrubs. Yet they possessed the amazing ability to bloom repeatedly throughout the summer and into late autumn, unlike their European counterparts. This made them highly desirable for hybridization purposes in the early 1800s. The flowers of China roses were also notable for their tendency to "suntan," or darken over time — unlike the blooms of European roses, which tended to fade after opening. Four China roses ('Slater's Crimson China', 1792; 'Parsons' Pink China', 1793; 'Hume's Blush China', 1809; and 'Parks' Yellow Tea Scented China', 1824) were brought to Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This brought about the creation of the first classes of repeat-flowering Old Garden Roses, and later the Modern Garden Roses. Examples: 'Old Blush China', 'Mutabilis'.

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Rosa Chinensis

Rosa chinensis, known commonly as the China Rose is a member of the genus Rosa native to central China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan. It is a shrub growing to 1-2 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, with 3-5 leaflets, each leaflet 2.5–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad.

In the wild species (sometimes listed as Rosa chinensis var. spontanea), the flowers have five pink to red petals. The fruit is a red hip 1-2 cm diameter. UsesThe species is extensively cultivated in China as an ornamental plant; numerous cultivars have been selected, with varying flower colour and usually an increased number of petals (semi-double or double flowers). The species is also important in the breeding of many modern garden roses, including the Hybrid Tea roses. The flowers and fruits are used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of irregular and/or painful menstruation, as well as swollen thyroid.

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Rose

A rose is a flowering shrub of the genus Rosa, and the flower of this shrub. There are more than a hundred species of wild roses, all from the northern hemisphere and mostly from temperate regions. The species form a group of generally prickly shrubs or climbers, and

sometimes trailing plants, reaching 2–5 metres tall, occasionally reaching as high as 20 metres by climbing over other plants. The name originates from Latin rosa, borrowed through Oscan from colonial Greek in southern Italy: rhodon (Aeolic form: wrodon), from Aramaic wurrdā, from Assyrian wurtinnu, from Old Iranian *warda (cf. Armenian vard, Avestan warda, Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr). Rose hips are sometimes eaten, mainly for their vitamin C content. They are usually pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup, as the fine hairs surrounding the seeds are unpleasant to eat (resembling itching powder). They can also be used to make herbal tea, jam, jelly and marmalade. A rose that has aged or gone rotten may not be particularly fragrant, but the rose's basic chemistry prevents it from producing a pungent odor of any kind. Notably, when balled and mashed together the fragrance of the rose is enhanced. The fragrance of particularly large balls of mashed roses is enhanced even further. Rose hips are also used to produce an oil used in skin products. Rose shrubs are often used by homeowners and landscape architects for home security purposes. The sharp thorns of many rose species deter unauthorized persons from entering private properties, and may prevent break-ins if planted under windows and near drainpipes. The aesthetic characteristics of rose shrubs, in conjunction with their home security qualities, makes them a considerable alternative to artificial fences and walls.

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