(Redirected from Rugosa Rose)
'''Rosa rugosa''' ('Rugosa Rose', 'Japanese Rose', or 'Ramanas Rose') is a species of
rose native to eastern
Asia, in northeastern
China,
Japan,
Korea and southeastern
Siberia, where it grows on the
coast, often on
sand dunes. The
Japanese name is (), meaning "shore pear".

Rugosa Rose hips and autumn leaf
It is a suckering
shrub which develops new plants from the roots and forms dense thickets 1–1.50 m tall with stems densely covered in numerous short, straight thorns 3-10 mm long. The
leaves are 8–15 cm long,
pinnate with 5–9 leaflets, most often 7, each leaflet 3–4 cm long, with a distinctly corrugated (rugose, hence the species' name) surface. The
flowers are pleasantly scented, dark pink to white, 6–9 cm across, with somewhat wrinkled petals; flowering is from summer to autumn (June to September in the northern hemisphere).
The
hips are large, 2–3 cm diameter, and often shorter than their diameter, not elongated like most other rose hips; in late summer and early autumn the plants often bear fruit and flowers at the same time. The leaves typically turn bright yellow before falling in autumn.
Cultivation and uses
Rugosa Rose is widely used as an
ornamental plant. It has been introduced to numerous areas of
Europe and
North America. It has many common names, several of which refer to the fruit's resemblance to a
tomato, including 'beach tomato' or 'sea tomato'; 'saltspray rose' and 'beach rose' are others.
The sweetly scented flowers are used to make
pot-pourri in Japan and
China, where it has been cultivated for about a thousand years.
This species
hybridises readily with many other roses, and is valued by rose
breeders for its considerable resistance to the diseases
rose rust and
rose black spot. It is also extremely tolerant of seaside
salt spray and
storms, commonly being the first shrub in from the coast. It is widely used in
landscaping, being relatively tough and trouble-free. Needing little maintenance, it is suitable for planting in large numbers; its salt-tolerance makes it useful for planting beside roads which need
deicing with salt regularly.
Numerous
cultivars have been selected for garden use, with flower colour varying from white to dark red-purple, and with semi-double to double flowers where some or all of the
stamens are replaced by extra petals. Popular examples include 'Fru Dagmar Hastrup' (pink, single), 'Pink Grootendorst' (pink, semi-double), and 'Blanc Double du Coubert' (white, double).
References
★ Biological Flora of the British Isles
[1]
★
Flora of China: ''Rosa rugosa''
★ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan.