Rosa foetida J Hermann syn R. lutea Miller. AUSTRIAN BRIAR, AUSTRIAN YELLOW. A sparse shrub up to 3m with glabrous young twigs and few straight, or slightly curved slender prickles. Leaflets 7-9 mm aromatic, sparsely glandular beneath and on the margins, dull green on both sides. Flowers round 6cm across, a rich strong yellow often suffused with red, sepals becoming leafy at the apex, the flowers have a slight (some think) unpleasant smell. Hips dark brick-red. Native of south-west Asia from Turkey to Pakistan and north to Georgia and the Tien Shan, in hedges scrub and on rocky slopes up to 2850m, flowering from April to June. Naturalized in southern and eastern Europe. Cultivated in England since before 1600, thriving in poor soil and full sun. This species is cultivated throughout its range and may have originated as a hybrid between R, kokanica and R. hemespherica. It is a very important rose in breeding this rose and Rosa foetida ‘Persiana’ that have been used most to breed yellow cultivars. Zone 5, will survive down to –25°C.