General · EdgepediaSeptember 17, 20266 min read

Rose

The rose is a flowering shrub or climbing plant of the genus Rosa in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere and cultivated for thousands of years for its flowers, fragrance, and fruit.¹ The genus comprises some 350 species, mainly in temperate areas, and has given rise to more than 30,000 garden varieties.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Scientific name	Rosa L., first published in Species Plantarum, 491 (1753)¹
Native range	Temperate and subtropical Northern Hemisphere; about 350 species¹
Flower structure	Normally 5 sepals and 5 petals (4 only in R. sericea); corolla typically 2 to 3 inches wide³
Fruit	The hip, a fleshy receptacle containing numerous achenes (seeds); some modern cultivars are sterile and set no hips¹^•⁴
Garden groups	Species roses; old garden roses (classes existing before 1867); modern roses (after 1867)⁵
Key ancestors	Modern varieties combine 7 to 10 major wild species; the hybrid tea carries genes from R. damascena, R. moschata, R. chinensis, R. gigantea, and R. gallica⁶
Scale of trade	An estimated 15 to 18 billion stems sold worldwide in 2003, grown in about 21,000 acres of greenhouse⁶

Botany

Rosa species are shrubs, erect or climbing, whose stems and branches usually bear prickles and/or thorns. The leaves are imparipinnate with serrate leaflets, and the stipules form a sheath with free auricles. Flowers are bisexual, solitary or in corymbs, with 5 sepals, 5 petals, and many stamens, carpels, and styles, one ovule per carpel.¹ The corolla is on average larger than in other members of the rose family, a width of 2 to 3 inches being the norm.³

The hip. After the petals fall, the receptacle matures into the hip, enlarging and usually becoming fleshy while retaining its original shape and outgrowths; it contains numerous achenes.³^•¹ Hips form only after successful pollination, since each contains seeds.⁷ Not all roses produce them: some modern cultivars are sterile, and the largest, tastiest hips come from rambling, shrub, and wild non-hybrid species roses such as Rosa virginiana, Rosa glauca, and Rosa rugosa.⁴

Domestication and history

The first major centers of rose domestication were in China and Europe.⁸ Persia (Iran) and China are generally regarded as the original homes of today's classic garden roses, with breeding and selection known in the Middle East from early in history.⁹ In China, the development of rose cultivation has been subdivided into five stages: wild roses about 2,000 years ago, before the Han Dynasty; cultivation of wild roses 1,500 years ago; a "perpetual rose" stage 1,000 years ago, in the Tang to Song Dynasties; selection for varieties 600 years ago; and popularity in urban and rural settings 400 years ago.⁸

The China rose and repeat flowering. Rosa chinensis, the China rose (yuejihua), is often heralded as the origin of repeat-blooming hybrids.¹⁰ In its native south-west China it is a shrub up to 2 m tall with single, semi-double, or double flowers in red, pink, white, or purple.¹¹ Europeans first saw dried specimens returned to Britain by the botanical explorer James Cunningham in 1702, and living material reached Europe in the late eighteenth century.¹¹ The cultivar Old Blush, one of the most important ancient Chinese garden roses, was discovered in China by John Parsons and introduced to Europe in 1789.¹² Remontancy, the ability to flower again after the first blooming period, reached Britain in four Rosa chinensis hybrids by 1780.¹⁰^•¹³

In Europe, Rosa gallica, the Gallic rose, is a parent of many antique garden roses, and its wild form is distributed across southern and central Europe.⁹ Wild rosehip species were drawn into cultivation early, and with the flourishing of ancient trade they spread to Greece and, in later centuries, to Western Europe; the introduction of Sino-Chinese plants into European botanical gardens began in the first half of the eighteenth century and peaked in the 1840s to 1860s.¹⁴

Classification of garden roses

Roses are classified in three main groupings: species roses; old garden, or heirloom, roses, meaning classes in existence before 1867; and modern roses, classes developed after 1867.⁵ The World Federation of Rose Societies uses a family tree based on the same three groups: Wild Roses, Old Garden Roses, and Modern Roses. The American Rose Society was formally designated the International Registration Authority for Roses in 1955, and classification was harmonized at the 12th World Rose Convention in 2000.¹⁵

Modern roses are grouped primarily by flowering habit: hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora, polyantha, shrub, miniature, miniflora, and Earth Kind, the last a label for roses that grow in a landscape with minimal care.⁵ The hybrid tea, the first group of modern cultivars, descends from crosses of Hybrid Perpetuals (derived from R. chinensis, R. gallica, and R. centifolia) and Tea roses (from R. chinensis and R. gigantea).¹⁶ The floribunda was introduced in 1907 by the Danish breeder Dines Poulsen, from crosses between Polyanthas and Hybrid Teas, and the grandiflora group was designated in the mid-twentieth century for back-crosses between Floribundas and Hybrid Teas.¹⁷

Hybrid teas and floribundas in the garden. Hybrid tea roses bear large, single flowers, often 3 to 5 inches in diameter, on tall, pointed buds and long stems that make them ideal for cutting; they are moderately hardy and generally thrive in USDA zones 5 through 9.² Floribundas instead produce clusters of flowers at the stem ends, which makes a good garden display but is less suited to vase arrangements.²

Uses

Roses serve as cut flowers, garden ornamentals, and food plants. All rose hips are edible and rich in vitamin C, with antioxidants, calcium, and magnesium, but most are too tart to eat without sweeteners, so they are made into jams, jellies, syrups, and tea-like beverages. Hips for consumption should come from plants not treated with pesticides, and harvest is best after the first light frost, which sweetens the flavor.⁴ Historically, the emperor of China kept roses in his garden five centuries ago partly because the flowers and hips were believed to help with health issues, and the ancient Persians and Greeks used rose oil against disease.¹⁸

Growing roses from seed is unreliable: seeds need a cold stratification period of 6 to 10 weeks, germination rates are low, and sprouting can take one to four months.⁴ Breeding itself faces biological barriers, including low fruit set, few seeds per hip, and low seed germination rates.¹⁹

Cultural standing

The rose has long been regarded as the "queen of flowers," revered for its fragrance and beauty.⁴ Writing at the end of the sixteenth century, the botanists L'Obel and Pena hailed the genus as "Orbis Deliciae," the Darling of the World.³ By the time of the ancient Greeks, floor mosaics already showed elaborate rose garlands with double blooms, and early Christian art connected roses and rosettes with the cross.⁹

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Rosids › Rosales, Fagales, and Cucurbitales

Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026

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