Rosa minutifolia Engelm. syn. Hesperbodos minutifolia (Engelm.) Hurst Native of lower California discovered and described in 1888. The leaflets are minute 3-7mm long, densely downy beneath borne on a thread-like rachis. (Check the picture Bill Grant has done of a selection of rose leaves for comparison, the single leaflets are from common roses, the very smallest leaves of all are Rosa minutifolia.) The young shoots are downy with numerous spines up to 9mm long. The strong to light pink flowers are up to 2.5cm across, produced from autumn to spring, on the only plant we have been able to study at The Huntington Garden. The hips are very spiny. The plants grow to about 60cm in height. They are very rare in the wild and in grave danger of becoming extinct, they are found on dry slopes in Baja California. Possibly zone 9, surviving down to is attractive rose is hardy but needs a hot, dry and sunny site to flower well. It is illustrated in the