Relatives
Rosa villosa L. - Apple Rose.
Taxonomic position.
Family Rosaceae Juss. genus Rosa L.Synonymy.
Rosa pomifera Herrm.Morphology and biology.
Deciduous shrub up to 2.5 m tall with dense slender shoots covered with straight or slightly upward prickles, sometimes admixed with needle-like bristles. Leaves alternate, compound imparipinnate, 5-7 leaflets. Leaflets large, up to 5 cm long, oblong with almost parallel margins, glandulose-serrate at margin, glaucous-green, densely tomentose, with dense fragrant glandules beneath. Flowers solitary or aggregated in corymbose inflorescences. Pedicels short, pubescent with small glandular and setaceous hairs. Sepals pinnate, with long appendages, glandulosely setose. Corolla pink. Fruit is a multinutlet within accrescent hypanthium, which becomes fleshy to form a skin of false "fruit". Hypanthia up to 3 cm diameter, globose, covered with glandular and setaceous hairs, declined, with persistent sepals.Entomophilous, ornitho- and zoochore. Propagates by seeds and summer cuttings. Flowers in June, mature fruits in August. 2n=28.
Distribution.
Southwestern Europe, Caucasus, Turkey. In Russia it occurs in the chernozem zone of the European part and in Ciscaucasia. Due to cultivation, it has escaped wild in more northern regions.Ecology.
Mesophyte. Photophilous. Occurs solitary or in small groups on exposed sites, among shrubberies, in thinned woodlands, forest fringes, glades, on stony slopes and cliffs. Common in the Caucasus in the middle and upper montane zones.Use and economic value.
Food, melliferous, medicine, ornamental. Large fruits are valuable as a source of vitamin C and are used to prepare jams, compotes. Cultivated in gardens and parks.References:
Gubanov IA., Kiseleva KV., Novikov VS., Tikhomirov VN. 2003. Illustrated Manual of the Middle Russia Plants. V.2. Moscow: KMK. 665 p. (In Russian).Sokolov SI., Svjaseva OA., Kubli VA. 1980. Ranges of trees and shrubs of the USSR. V.2. Leningrad: Nauka. P.101. (In Russian).
Yuzepchuk SV. 1941. Rose (wild rose) - Rosa L. In: Shishkin BK., Yuzepchuk SV. eds. Flora URSS. V.10. Moscow; Leningrad. P.431-506. (In Russian).