Rosa palustris Marsh SWAMP ROSE A suckering shrub up to 2.5m high, with stout, often hooked, prickles at the base of the leaves. Introduced in 1726. Leaflets 5-9, dull green, oblong or elliptic, minutely pubescent beneath, 2-6cm long. Flowers pink with a darker blush near the base of the petals, in corymbs or solitary, 4-5.5cm across. Hips with glandular bristles or smooth, red. Native of North America from Florida and Arkansas north to Quebec, Wisconsin and Minnesota, growing in swamps, marshes and the margins of lakes, flowering from June to August according to altitude. An attractive late flowering species, very useful for planting in wet areas. Zone 5, will survive down to –25°C.
The hips were photographed at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden New York USA.