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red-spine rose, rosier brillant, shining rose

pygmy rose, Sierran dwarf rose, Sierran ground rose, wood rose

Habit Shrubs or subshrubs, some forming clusters. Subshrubs, forming open colonies.
Stems

spreading, procumbent, or erect, 2–8(–10) dm, openly branched;

bark dark brown, glabrous;

infrastipular prickles sometimes present, paired, erect or declined, rarely curved, subulate, 6 × 6 mm, base glabrous, internodal prickles usually dense, mixed with aciculi, erect or declined, subulate, terete, 2–7 × 2 mm, eglandular.

erect, (1–)2–4(–8) dm, openly branched;

bark often glaucous when young, gray to dark brown with age, glabrous;

infrastipular prickles paired, erect, largest ± flattened, subulate, 3–10 × 2–7 mm, base glabrous, internodal rare or absent, smaller, mixed with aciculi, eglandular.

Leaves

3–10 cm;

stipules 10–14 × 4–5.5 mm, auricles flared, 4–5 mm, margins entire or glandular-serrate, eglandular or gland-tipped, surfaces glabrous, eglandular;

petiole and rachis with pricklets, glabrous, rarely puberulent, eglandular;

leaflets (5–)7–9, terminal: petiolule 3–5(–9) mm, blade narrowly elliptic or lanceolate, rarely ovate, 13–27(–40) × 7–17 mm, membranous, margins 1-serrate, eglandular, rarely gland-tipped, teeth 12–17 per side, sometimes gland-tipped, apex acute to subacuminate, abaxial surfaces green, glabrous or pubescent, eglandular, adaxial deep green, purplish red in fall, lustrous, glabrous.

2.5–11 cm;

stipules 5–10 × 2–4 mm, auricles flared, 1–3 mm, margins entire, usually sessile-glandular, surfaces glabrous, stipitate-glandular;

petiole and rachis with sparse pricklets, glabrous or densely fine hairy hairs to 0.2 mm, densely stipitate-glandular;

leaflets (3–)5–7, terminal: petiolule 3–20 mm, blade obovate or widely elliptic-cuneate to ± orbiculate, 10–30(–50) × 8–25(–30) mm, membranous to ± leathery, base rounded-obtuse, margins 2+-crenate, teeth 8–12 per side, obtuse, gland-tipped, apex obtuse to truncate, abaxial surfaces gray-green, finely puberulent, sometimes sparsely stipitate-glandular, adaxial green, dull, finely puberulent to glabrate.

Inflorescences

corymbs, 1–3-flowered.

corymbs, 1 or 2(–7)-flowered.

Pedicels

erect or recurved (as hips mature), slender, 13–25 mm, glabrous, densely long stipitate-glandular;

bracts 1 or 2, lanceolate, 9–18 × 3.5–7 mm, margins entire, rarely serrate, few gland-tipped, apically cleft 2–3.5 mm, surfaces glabrous, eglandular.

erect, relatively slender, 5–17 mm, glabrous, eglandular or stipitate-glandular;

bracts 1–3, lanceolate, 3–10 × 1–6 mm, margins entire, stipitate-glandular, surfaces glabrous, eglandular.

Flowers

4–5 cm diam.;

hypanthium globose or subglobose, 3–4 × 3–5 mm, glabrous, densely stipitate-glandular, neck absent;

sepals spreading to reflexed, lanceolate, 14–22 × 2–3 mm, tip 5–10 × 0.5–1 mm, margins entire, abaxial surfaces glabrous, densely stipitate-glandular;

petals single, pink to rose, 19–23 × 20–23 mm;

carpels 20–24, styles exsert 0.5–1 mm beyond stylar orifice (1.5–2 mm diam.) of hypanthial disc (4 mm diam.).

2.5–3.5 cm diam.;

hypanthium ovoid-globose to widely urceolate, 4–5 × 3–4 mm, glabrous, rarely sparsely setose, usually eglandular, neck 0.5–1(–2) × 1.5–3 mm;

sepals spreading, lanceolate, 6–14 × 2–3 mm, tip 0–4 × 0.5 mm, margins entire, abaxial surfaces puberulent, usually stipitate-glandular;

petals single, deep pink, 10–20 × 10–20 mm;

carpels 10–30, styles exsert 0.5–1 mm beyond stylar orifice (1–1.5 mm diam.) of hypanthial disc (2–4 mm diam.).

Hips

red to dark red, globose to depressed-globose, 8–10 × 7–10 mm, fleshy, glabrous, densely stipitate-glandular, neck absent;

sepals deciduous, erect or spreading to reflexed.

scarlet, ovoid to depressed-globose to pyriform, (8–)10–18 × 7–14 mm, fleshy, glabrous, rarely sparsely setose distally, eglandular, neck 1 × 2.5–4.5 mm;

sepals persistent, erect.

Achenes

basal, 10–14, tan, darkening with age, 2.6–2.8 × 1.6–1.8 mm.

basiparietal, 1–11, cream to pale brown, 3.5–5(–6.5) × 2.5–4 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14, 28.

Rosa nitida

Rosa bridgesii

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Wet edges of spruce woods, bogs, swamps, rocky ledges, wet thickets, margins of ponds and streams, shores, rocky and grassy hills and bluffs Open forest floors, meadow edges, rocky outcrops, midmontane forests, shade to sun
Elevation 0–400 m (0–1300 ft) 700–2500 m (2300–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; MA; ME; NH; NY; RI; VT; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Rosa nitida is typical of the eastern Canadian Provincial Element (S. P. McLaughlin 2007) and is often found near or intermixed with R. virginiana. Putative hybrids between R. nitida (2x) and both R. palustris (2x) and R. virginiana (4x) are reported from Nova Scotia and New England. Because the armature of both R. palustris and R. virginiana is predominately or exclusively of infrastipular prickles, hybridity might explain the infrequent occurrences of R. nitida with infrastipular prickles. In a sample of 23 sheets of R. nitida having abundant prickles, two possess infrastipular prickles.

The most diagnostic feature of these shrubs with weak, sprawling stems is their distal branches, which are densely covered with mixed red to reddish purple internodal prickles and aciculi with infrastipular prickles relatively few.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

As here circumscribed, Rosa bridgesii is the Sierran-Cascade counterpart of R. spithamea, encompassing previous references to R. pinetorum and R. spithamea from the Sierra Nevada and most applications of R. yainacensis. The species is the low-growing, openly rhizomatous rose of midmontane forests in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range of California and Oregon. Finely puberulent leaflets help distinguish non-fruiting R. bridgesii from sympatric R. gymnocarpa, which has glabrous leaflets. Plants from Oregon differ from Sierran plants in that prickles are less likely to be infrastipular only.

In the phylogenetic analysis by A. Bruneau et al. (2007), Rosa bridgesii and R. spithamea comprise a distinct clade more closely related to Asian species than to others from western North America.

Rosa bridgesii has been conserved against R. calvaria Greene, R. covillei Greene, R. crenulata Greene, R. myriadenia Greene, and R. yainacensis Greene (B. Ertter 2007b). Only R. calvaria and R. crenulata are unambiguous synonyms of R. bridgesii; the taxonomic identity of the other names remains unresolved and may involve hybridization with other species.

On the basis of pollen size, E. W. Erlanson (1931) believed that material falling within the current circumscription of Rosa bridgesii was tetraploid (2n = 28). In a subsequent paper (1934), she reported a diploid somatic count (2n = 14) for R. calvaria, a synonym of R. bridgesii. Recent flow cytometry indicates a tetraploid condition for the sampled specimen of R. bridgesii (A. Bruneau et al., unpubl. data). It is possible that both ploidy levels are present within the species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 103. FNA vol. 9, p. 118.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Roseae > Rosa > subg. Rosa > sect. Rosa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Roseae > Rosa > subg. Rosa > sect. Rosa
Sibling taxa
R. acicularis, R. arkansana, R. blanda, R. bracteata, R. bridgesii, R. californica, R. canina, R. carolina, R. cinnamomea, R. foliolosa, R. gallica, R. glauca, R. gymnocarpa, R. laevigata, R. lucieae, R. minutifolia, R. mollis, R. multiflora, R. nutkana, R. palustris, R. pinetorum, R. pisocarpa, R. rubiginosa, R. rugosa, R. setigera, R. sherardii, R. spinosissima, R. spithamea, R. stellata, R. tomentosa, R. virginiana, R. woodsii
R. acicularis, R. arkansana, R. blanda, R. bracteata, R. californica, R. canina, R. carolina, R. cinnamomea, R. foliolosa, R. gallica, R. glauca, R. gymnocarpa, R. laevigata, R. lucieae, R. minutifolia, R. mollis, R. multiflora, R. nitida, R. nutkana, R. palustris, R. pinetorum, R. pisocarpa, R. rubiginosa, R. rugosa, R. setigera, R. sherardii, R. spinosissima, R. spithamea, R. stellata, R. tomentosa, R. virginiana, R. woodsii
Synonyms R. gymnocarpa var. pubescens, R. spithamea var. solitaria, R. spithamea var. subinermis
Name authority Willdenow: Enum. Pl., 544. (1809) Crépin ex Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 44: 83. (1917)
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