Rosa laevigata
Rosa palustris
Cherokee rose
rosier palustre, swamp rose
distal branches dark brown to purplish red;
infrastipular prickles paired, internodal prickles paired or single, reddish brown, rarely deltate or erect, 6–9 × 6–11 mm.
erect, 10–25(–30) dm, sparsely branched;
bark reddish brown, glabrous;
infrastipular prickles paired, curved, rarely erect, stout, 3.5–8 × 2–5(–10) mm, base glabrous, internodal prickles and aciculi rare, sometimes absent.
stipules 4–6 × 1–2 mm, auricles 5–7(–10) mm, surfaces glabrous;
petiole and rachis sometimes with pricklets, glabrous, eglandular;
leaflets: terminal larger than laterals, base cuneate, margins 1-serrate, teeth 20–30 per side, tipped with dark glands, apex acute or acuminate, abaxial surfaces usually with pricklets on midveins.
8–11 cm;
stipules narrow, 10–22(–35) × 2.5–4 mm, auricles erect, rarely flared, 2.5–4.5(–8) mm, margins serrulate, eglandular or stipitate-glandular, surfaces glabrous, eglandular;
petiole and rachis usually with pricklets, puberulent to pubescent, sometimes glabrous, eglandular or sparsely stipitate-glandular;
leaflets 5–7, terminal: petiolule 5–10 mm, blade ovate-lanceolate, rarely broadly lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, 23–45 × 10–18 mm, membranous, base cuneate, margins 1–2-serrulate, eglandular, teeth 20–30 per side, acute to ± obtuse, eglandular, apex acute to subacute, abaxial surfaces pale green, glabrous or pubescent, eglandular, adaxial green, dull, glabrous.
corymbs, (1 or)2–10(–40)-flowered.
densely setose;
bracts attached near base, lanceolate, 5 × 2–3 mm, margins not ciliate, surfaces glabrous, eglandular.
erect, slender, 6–15 mm, glabrous, densely stipitate-glandular;
bracts 2, lanceolate, 6–15 × 3–4 mm, margins and central veins pubescent, eglandular, surfaces pubescent, eglandular.
1(or 2);
hypanthium 5–9 × 4–6 mm, densely setose, setae 2–3 mm, some gland-tipped;
sepal tip 5–10 × 2 mm;
petals 25–35 × 25–30 mm;
styles exsert 1–2 mm beyond hypanthium orifice.
2.5–5 cm diam.;
hypanthium cupulate, 2–4 × 2–4 mm, glabrous, sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular, neck absent or 1–3 mm;
sepals spreading to reflexed, rarely erect, lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate, 15–30(–40) × 2–3.5 mm, tip 2.5–3.5 × 0.5–1 mm, margins entire, rarely pinnate, abaxial surfaces glabrous, densely, sometimes sparsely, stipitate-glandular;
petals single, pink to deep pink, 14–28 × 13–28 mm;
stamens 200;
carpels 24–50, styles exsert 0.5–1 m beyond stylar orifice (1.5 mm diam.) of hypanthial disc (3.5–4.5 mm diam.).
leathery, base elongate, 7–12 mm, neck 1–2 × 6–9 mm.
deep red, usually globose to subglobose, rarely elongate, 7–11 × 7–11 mm, fleshy, glabrous, sparsely or densely stipitate-glandular, neck absent or 3 × 1 mm;
sepals deciduous, spreading.
20–30, light tan, 6–8 × 3–4 mm.
basal, 26, tan, 3 × 1.5–2 mm.
= 14.
= 14.
Rosa laevigata
Rosa palustris
By the nineteenth century, Rosa laevigata was widely found in the southern United States as a hedging shrub, being commonly distributed by stem cuttings and rhizomes, representing relatively few clones (C. A. Walker 1996; Walker and D. J. Werner 1997). The species was named and described from plants collected in Georgia in the 1790s by A. Michaux, who was unaware that his newly discovered species was native to Asia. This suggests a very old introduction into the United States, where it occurs only in the southeast to eastern Texas and the Carolinas. Shrubs form dense, rhizomatous thickets with stems capable of climbing to 100 dm. Leaves are persistent and leathery with mostly three leaflets and stipules free for most of their lengths, then caducous. Inflorescences consist of one (rarely two) white-petaled flowers and have densely setose hypanthia and hips.
In China, where the species is considered one of the most beautiful and cherished of roses, Rosa laevigata has a long history of use by herbal practitioners to treat bronchitis, dysentery, and urogenital disorders, and to restore hair color (J. A. Duke and E. S. Ayensu 1985, vol. 2).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The single 1952 collection of Rosa palustris from Lake of Three Fires State Park (ISC), Taylor County, southwestern Iowa, is about 430 km northwest of the nearest known collection of the species, in Missouri. The species was probably introduced. It has the most serrulate leaflet margins of all roses in North America; the stems usually have short, stout, curved infrastipular prickles, rarely without armature.
Rosa ×palustriformis (Rydberg) Voss (R. carolina var. aculeata Schuette, R. michiganensis Erlanson, R. schuetteana Erlanson) refers to putative hybrids between R. blanda × R. palustris from Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Rosa schuetteana is morphologically intermediate between the parental species; R. ×palustriformis is more similar to R. palustris. Rosa blanda and R. palustris differ by: branch armature (R. blanda unarmed or with sparse prickles or aciculi, R. palustris with stout, curved infrastipular prickles or unarmed); length of each auricle (R. blanda average 4.8 mm, R. palustris average 2.6 mm); petioles and rachises with pricklets (R. blanda rare, R. palustris common); leaflet serrations (R. blanda serrate, acute, teeth 10–26 per blade side, R. palustris serrulate, slightly blunt, teeth 20–30 per blade side); pedicels stipitate-glandular (R. blanda eglandular, R. palustris almost always); hypanthia stipitate-glandular (R. blanda eglandular, R. palustris almost always); inflorescences corymbs (R. blanda rare, R. palustris common).
Root decoctions of Rosa palustris were drunk by Cherokee to treat diarrhea (W. H. Lewis and M. P. F. Elvin-Lewis 2003). In Maine, R. palustris hips, including their achenes, are gathered about February, flattened, dried, and ground into flour for use with ground wheat to make leavened bread. The bread has a red color and a fine taste reminiscent of tomatoes (Arthur Haines, pers. comm.).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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