Species roses are defined as the original rose varieties found in nature from which all others have been bred. Flowers are usually single and appear in spring or early summer. They carry the hips into winter, are vigorous and are usually very hardy. Hybrids of the species roses are among the earliest successes with rose breeding and often bear double or semi-double blooms, while retaining the hardiness of the original species.
The rose species are endemic to the Northern Hemisphere of the globe only. Fossil evidence from 35 million years ago (Oligocene epoch) relates that some rose species did exist at that time. The fossil specimens found most closely resemble the still extant species, R. nutkana, and R. palustris.
In more recent times, the English archaeologist William Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) discovered in the tombs of Hawara, Egypt, wreaths made of flowers, among them, roses. The wreaths date to about AD 170, and represent the oldest preserved record of a rose species still living.
There are some examples in Crete at Knossos, of frescoes dating to c. 1700 BC, illustrating a rose with single, five-petalled pink blooms. In Mesopotamia, there have been discoveries of cuneiform tablets which repeatedly use the word amurdinnu, which is thought to mean bramble, or wild rose. These historical records of the genus Rosa are rich and many, illustrating that many ancient cultures valued these shrubs as we do now.
There are some 200 species roses, but only a few dozen are commonly grown. Explore seven species roses by clicking on the table links: Austrian copper rose, Father Hugo rose, Lady Banks rose, Redleaf rose, Scotch briar rose, Sweet briar rose, Woods' rose.
Learn more: February Plant Feature - Woods' rose (Rosa woodsii)
