Rosa moschata

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Musk rose
Rosa moschata.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Rosa
Species:
R. moschata
Binomial name
Rosa moschata

Rosa moschata, the musk rose, [1] is a species of rose which has been long in cultivation. Its wild origins are uncertain but are suspected to lie in the western Himalayas.

Contents

Description

Rosa moschata is a shrub (to 3m) with single white 5 cm flowers in a loose cyme or corymb, blooming on new growth from late spring until late autumn in warm climates, or from late summer onwards in cool-summer climates. The sepals are 2 cm long with slender points. The flowers have a characteristic "musky" scent, emanating from the stamens, which is also found in some of its descendants.

Painting of a Musk Rose, 1902. Musk Rose New International Encycl crop.jpg
Painting of a Musk Rose, 1902.

The prickles on the stems are straight or slightly curved and have a broad base. The light- or greyish-green leaves have 5 to 7 ovate leaflets with small teeth; the veins are sometimes pubescent and the rachis bears prickles. The stipules are narrow with spreading, free tips. Small, ovate fruits called hips are borne, turning orange-red in autumn, popular rosehip seed oil is processed with Rosa moschata seeds

This species has historically been confused with Rosa brunonii, a closely related, tall-climbing species from the Himalayas that bears flowers in late spring and which possesses a similar, musky scent. They can be distinguished in gardens by their season of flowering and by their differing growth habits.

The variety 'Plena' bears semi-double flowers, and a form with study name "Temple Musk", found in the United States, bears more fully double flowers.

Cultivation

It has been contended that no truly wild examples of the musk rose have been found, though it is recorded in cultivation as least as far back as the 16th century, indeed being mentioned in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595/96). It is important in cultivation as a parent to several groups of cultivated roses, notably the damask rose and the noisette group, and is valued for its scent and for its unusually long season of bloom among rose species.

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<i>Erythranthe moschata</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythranthe moschata is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names muskflower, musk monkeyflower, and formerly as the common musk, eyebright and musk plant. It was formerly known as Mimulus moschatus.

<i>Abelmoschus ficulneus</i> Species of plant

Abelmoschus ficulneus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Abelmoschus, family Malvaceae. Commonly known as white wild musk mallow or native rosella, it is fibrous perennial with a woody stem. Its flowers are about an inch in diameter, either pink or white, with a rose center; its leaves are palmate.

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<i>Rosa fedtschenkoana</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa fedtschenkoana is a species in the plant genus Rosa in the family Rosaceae. Some authorities consider it a synonym of Rosa webbiana. It is native to the foothills of the Ala Tau, Tian Shan and Pamir-Alai mountain ranges in central Asia and northwest China. It is named after Olga Fédchenko, a Russian botanist. It is deciduous, forming a bushy and suckering shrub up to 2.5 metres high and as much across. The branches are covered in many prickles, many of which are fine and straight, but some are thicker and slightly hooked. The pinnate leaves are pale greyish green in colour and have usually between 7 and 9 leaflets. The flowers are white, up to 5 cm across, and are borne singly or in small clusters at the tips of the branches throughout the summer months. The flowers' scent has been described as being "like 'Hovis' [brown] bread with a little blackberry jam". The flowers are followed by small, pear-shaped, bristly orange-red fruits.

<i>Rosa blanda</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa blanda, commonly known as the smooth rose, meadow/wild rose, or prairie rose, is a species of rose native to North America. Among roses, it is closest to come to a "thornless" rose, with just a few thorns at the base. The meadow rose occurs as a colony-forming shrub growing to 1 m (3.3 ft) high, naturally in prairies and meadows. The roses are quite variable, the characteristics such as leaf tip number of prickles and glandular hairs usually do not always remain constant, thus it is often confused with Rosa arkansana or Rosa carolina, the two other prairie rose species.

<i>Rosa brunonii</i> Species of plant in the genus Rosa

Rosa brunonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is commonly known as the Himalayan musk rose. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen climber most commonly seen along the foothills of the Himalayas and grows at heights of 1200–2400 m. Come May, all the musk rose bushes burst into bloom, clothing trees, running wild over hedges and tumbling precariously over cliffs and boulders. The air is heady with their scent and honeybees and nectar-loving insects have a field day.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Rosa moschata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 23 October 2015.