Rosa canina L. DOG ROSE A bush up to 5m with strong curved prickles. Leaflets 5-7, ovate, obovate or elliptical, glabrous and without glands. Pedicels glabrous. Flowers scented, solitary or in groups of 2-5. Petals pink to white, 15-30mm long. Sepals deflexed, falling as the flowers fade, the outer pinnate. Hips 10-20mm glabrous, red. Native of most of Europe and western Asia except the far north, naturalised in North America. Common in hedgerows, on the edges of woods, by streams and in scrub on all types of soil. In the past much used as an understock although now superseded by Rosa laxa. Zone 5, will survive down to –25°C |