The Rose Family
The family is especially abundant in E Asia, Europe, and North America, where species of almost half of the family's genera are indigenous, especially in the Pacific coastal area. Many of the Rosaceae are thorny, and most are characterized by the presence of stipules on the leaf, by flowers having five sets of parts, by a fleshy fruit, such as a rose hip or an apple, that is derived in large part from a cup-shaped enlargement of the flower stalk, and by the near absence of endosperm in the seed.
Although some groups of these plants are sometimes classed as separate families, most botanists consider them all to be a single family that represents a natural phylogenetic classification, i.e., most or all members have evolved from common ancestors. The largest of the approximately 110 genera (comprising a total of some 3,100 species) are Rubus (including the raspberry, blackberry, dewberry, loganberry, and other types of bramble bramble, name for plants of the genus Rubus [Lat.,=red, for the color of the juice]. This complex genus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), with representatives in many parts of the world, includes the blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, boysenberries,
..... Click the link for more information. ), Spiraea (including the bridal wreath, meadowsweet, and hardhack), Rosa (the true roses), Crataegus (hawthorn hawthorn, any species of the genus Crataegus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), shrubs and trees widely distributed in north temperate climates and especially common in E North America.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and Prunus (including the almond almond, name for a small tree (Prunus amygdalus) of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for the nutlike, edible seed of its drupe fruit. The "nuts" of sweet-almond varieties are eaten raw or roasted and are pressed to obtain almond oil.
..... Click the link for more information. , apricot apricot [Arabic from Lat.,=early ripe], tree, Prunus armeniaca, and its fruit, of the plum genus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), native to temperate Asia and long cultivated in Armenia. The fruit is used raw, canned, preserved, and dried.
..... Click the link for more information. , blackthorn blackthorn or sloe, low, spreading, thorny bush or small tree (Prunus spinosa) of the plum genus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), having black bark, white flowers, and deep blue fruits, usually rather acrid and not much larger than
..... Click the link for more information. or sloe, cherry cherry, name for several species of trees or shrubs of the genus Prunus (a few are sometimes classed as Padus) of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for their fruits.
..... Click the link for more information. , nectarine nectarine , name for a tree (Prunus persica var. nectarina) of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for its fruit, a smooth-skinned variety of the peach. The nectarine is a classical example of bud variation (see mutation).
..... Click the link for more information. , peach peach, fruit tree (Prunus persica) of the family Rosaceae (rose family) having decorative pink blossoms and a juicy, sweet drupe fruit. The peach appears to have originated in China, where it was mentioned in literature several centuries before Christ.
..... Click the link for more information. , and plum plum, common name for a tree of any of many species of the genus Prunus of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for its fruit, a drupe. The plum is generally cultivated in the temperate zones, though among the numerous varieties and hybrids are types suitable
..... Click the link for more information. ).
Economically the rose family is of enormous importance. It provides numerous temperate fruits including (besides species of Rubus and Prunus) the apple apple, any tree (and its fruit) of the genus Malus of the family Rosaceae (rose family). Apples were formerly considered species of the pear genus Pyrus, with which they share the characteristic pome fruit. The common apple (M.
..... Click the link for more information. , loquat loquat , small ornamental evergreen tree (Eriobotrya japonica) and its fruit. It belongs to the family Rosaceae (rose family) and is probably indigenous to China.
..... Click the link for more information. , medlar medlar , small deciduous tree (Mespilus germanica) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), native to Europe and Asia. It has luxuriant foliage and large white or pinkish flowers; in the wild state it is sometimes thorny.
..... Click the link for more information. , pear pear, name for a fruit tree of the genus Pyrus of the family Rosaceae (rose family) and for its fruit, a pome. The common pear (P. communis) is one of the earliest cultivated of fruit trees, both in its native W Asia and in Europe.
..... Click the link for more information. , quince quince, shrub or small tree of the Asian genera Chaenomeles and Cydonia of the family Rosaceae (rose family). The common quince (Cydonia oblonga
..... Click the link for more information. , and strawberry strawberry, any plant of the genus Fragaria of the family Rosaceae (rose family), low herbaceous perennials with edible red fruits, native to temperate and mountainous tropical regions. The European everbearing strawberry (F.
..... Click the link for more information. . The typically fragrant and beautiful flowers make many members of the family prized as ornamentals, e.g., the fruit trees and bushes mentioned and also the antelope brush antelope brush, low, deciduous shrub (Purshia tridentata) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), widely distributed in the W United States where it is a characteristic constituent of the vegetation on arid slopes and desert ranges.
..... Click the link for more information. , Christmasberry Christmasberry or toyon , evergreen tree or shrub (Photinia arbutifolia) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), found on the Pacific coast of North America.
..... Click the link for more information. , mountain ash mountain ash, name for any species of the genus Sorbus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), hardy ornamental trees and shrubs native to the Northern Hemisphere, not related to the true ashes.
..... Click the link for more information. , pyracantha pyracantha or firethorn, any hardwood evergreen shrub of the genus Pyracantha of the family Rosaceae (rose family). Native from S Europe to W China, pyracanthas are now cultivated elsewhere (often as hedge plants or espaliered on walls)
..... Click the link for more information. , and shadbush shadbush, Juneberry, or serviceberry, any species of the genus Amelanchier of the family Rosaceae (rose family), chiefly North American shrubs or trees conspicuous in the early spring for their white blossoms.
..... Click the link for more information. . Many genera have species that are native wildflowers of the United States; in addition to many of those above are Agrimonia (agrimony agrimony , any plant of the genus Agrimonia, perennials of the family Rosaceae (rose family) native to north temperate zones, to Brazil, and to Africa. They are found wild in the N and central United States.
..... Click the link for more information. ), Potentilla (cinquefoil cinquefoil [O.Fr.,=five leaves], name for any plant of the widely distributed genus Potentilla of the family Rosaceae (rose family), chiefly herbs of north temperate and subarctic regions.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and Sanguisorba (burnet burnet, hardy perennial herb of the family Rosaceae (rose) found in temperate regions, usually with white or greenish flowers. The European species are sometimes cultivated for the leaves, which are used in salads, for flavoring, and formerly as a poultice to stop
..... Click the link for more information. ), which are also sometimes cultivated.
The True Roses
The most popular ornamentals of the family, and among the most esteemed of all cultivated plants, are the true roses. Rosa occurs indigenously in the north temperate zone and in tropical mountain areas, usually as erect or climbing shrubs with five-petaled fragrant flowers. Sometimes the foliage also is fragrant, as in the European sweetbrier sweetbrier, sweetbriar, or eglantine [O. Fr. from Lat.,=needle], wild rose of Europe (Rosa eglanteria), cultivated and now naturalized in the United States.
..... Click the link for more information. , or eglantine. From many of the wild species have been developed the large number of cultivated varieties and hybrids having single or double blossoms that range in color from white and yellow to many shades of pink and red. Since many species are highly variable and hybridize easily, the classification of Rosa is sometimes difficult, and the wild type of some modern forms is not always known.
The rose has been a favorite flower in many lands since prehistoric times. It appears in the earliest art, poetry, and tradition. It has been used in innumerable ways in decoration. In ancient times it was used medically—Pliny lists 32 remedies made of its petals and leaves. Formerly it was eaten in salads and conserves. It was sacred to Aphrodite and was a favorite flower of the Romans, who spread its culture wherever their armies conquered. Among the old species are the cabbage rose and the damask rose, both native to the Caucasus; the latter especially is cultivated for the perfume oil attar of roses attar of roses , or rose oil, fragrant essential oil obtained from roses and used in making perfume. It is one of the most valuable of the volatile oils. Rose water is water in which a small amount of the oil is dissolved.
..... Click the link for more information. . The famous roses of England include the white rose that was the emblem of the house of York and the red rose of the house of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses. The rambler rose, frequently grown on trellises and porches, and the tea and hybrid tea roses are of more recent origin, the result of modern rose culture, which really began when the East India Company's ships brought new everblooming or monthly roses from the Orient.
The rose is the emblem of England and the national flower of the United States. It is the official flower of New York state; the wild rose, of Iowa; the prairie rose, of North Dakota; and the American Beauty, of the District of Columbia. Practical uses of roses, besides their importance as a source of perfume, include a delicate-flavored jelly made from the fruits, called rose hips, of some wild species. Thorny rambling roses, such as the Oriental multiflora rose, are much used as hedge and erosion control plants in agriculture, highway landscaping, and wildlife preserves.
Classification
Roses are classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta , division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.
Bibliography
See the American Rose Annual, issued by the American Rose Society; R. Genders, The Rose: A Complete Handbook (1965); S. M. Gault and P. M. Synge, The Dictionary of Roses in Color (1971).
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