>>95892945 from China and Burma.
Gallicanae – pink to crimson and striped flowered roses from western Asia and Europe.
Gymnocarpae – one species in western North America (Rosa gymnocarpa), others in east Asia.
Laevigatae – a single white flowered species from China.
Pimpinellifoliae – white, pink, bright yellow, mauve and striped roses from Asia and Europe.
Rosa (syn. sect. Cinnamomeae) – white, pink, lilac, mulberry and red roses from everywhere but North Africa.
Synstylae – white, pink, and crimson flowered roses from all areas.
Ecology
Some birds, particularly finches, eat the seeds.
Pests and diseases
Main article: List of pests and diseases of roses
Wild roses are host plants for a number of pests and diseases. Many of these affect other plants, including other genera of the Rosaceae.
Cultivated roses are often subject to severe damage from insect, arachnid and fungal pests and diseases. In many cases they cannot be usefully grown without regular treatment to control these problems.
Uses
Roses are best known as ornamental plants grown for their flowers in the garden and sometimes indoors. They have also been used for commercial perfumery and commercial cut flower crops. Some are used as landscape plants, for hedging and for other utilitarian purposes such as game cover and slope stabilization.
Ornamental plants
Main article: Garden roses
The majority of ornamental roses are hybrids that were bred for their flowers. A few, mostly species roses are grown for attractive or scented foliage (such as Rosa glauca and R. rubiginosa), ornamental thorns (such as R. sericea) or for their showy fruit (such as R. moyesii).
Ornamental roses have been cultivated for millennia, with the earliest known cultivation known to date from at least 500 BC in Mediterranean countries, Persia, and China.[19] It is estimated that 30 to 35 thousand rose hybrids and cultivars have been bred and selected for garden use as flowering plants.[20] Most are double-flowered with many or all of the stamens having morphed into additional petals.
In the early 19th century the Empress Josephine of France patronized the development of rose breeding at her gardens at Malmaison. As long ago as 1840 a collection numbering over one thousand different cultivars, varieties and species was possible when a rosarium was planted by Loddiges nursery for Abney Park Cemetery, an early Victorian garden cemetery and arboretum in England.
Cut flowers
Main article: Cut flowers
Bouquet of pink roses
Roses are a popular crop for both domestic and commercial cut flowers. Generally they are harvested and cut when in bud, and held in refrigerated conditions until ready for display at their point of sale. The price of the roses depends partly on the characteristics of the rose itself, such as how long the stem is and how big the bloom is, and partly on factors about how it was grown, such as which country is was grown in.[21]
In temperate climates, cut roses are often grown in greenhouses, and in warmer countries they may also be grown under cover in order to ensure that the flowers are not damaged by weather and that pest and disease control can be carried out effectively. Significant quantities are grown in some tropical countries, and these are shipped by air to markets across the world.[22]
Some kind of roses are artificially coloured using dyed water, like rainbow roses.
Perfume
Further information: Rose oil and Rose water
Geraniol (C
10H
18O)
Rose perfumes are made from rose oil (also called attar of roses), which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. An associated product is rose water which is used for cooking, cosmetics, medicine and religious practices. The production technique originated in Persia[23] and then spread through Arabia and India, and more recently into eastern Europe. In Bulgaria, Iran and Germany, damask roses (Rosa × damascena 'Trigintipetala') are used. In other parts of the world Rosa × centifolia is commonly used. The oil is transparent pale yellow or yellow-grey in colour. 'Rose Absolute' is solvent-extracted with hexane and produces a darker oil, dark yellow to orange in colour. The weight of oil extracted is about one three-thousandth to one six-thousandth of the weight of the flowers; for example, about two thousand flowers are required to produce one gram of oil.
The main constituents of attar of roses are the fragrant alcohols geraniol and L-citronellol and rose camphor, an odorless solid composed of alkanes, which separates from rose oil.[24] β-Damascenone is also a significant contributor to the scent.
Food and drink
Rosa rubiginosa hips
Farming of Rosa rugosa
Rose hips are high in vitamin C, are, after the removal of the irritant hairs, edible raw,[25] and occasionally are made into jam, jelly, marmalade, and soup, or brewed for tea. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose h
