Rose
Rosa acicularis
(Rosaceae)
Description:
A small shrub with bristly and prickly stems and branches,
this rose has three to seven opaque, odd-pinnate, serrate leaflets, hairy on
the undersides, with puberulent and often glandular rachis. The solitary flowers,
about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches (4 to 6 cm.) in diameter, display five rose-colored
petals. The sepals are erect in fruit, glandular on the back. The subglobose
hips contract to the neck below the sepals.
Distribution:
Roses are found in woods, heaths, tundra bogs, and thickets.
In Denali National Park the plant occurs to about 1,100 meters. It is described
in Siberia.
Rosa acicularis is the most widely distributed of the three species of roses in Alaska. The other two similar species are R. woodsii, which escaped from cultivation, and R. nutkana, which occurs in the southeastern and southern coastal regions and hybridizes with R. acicularis where their ranges overlap.
Medicinal uses:
Rosa acicularis is an excellent source of vitamin
C. Its hips and leaves are antiscorbutic; the bark is emetic.
For sore eyes, wash with juice made by soaking the flowers in hot water.
Stems and branches are used for colds, fever, stomach trouble, weak blood, and menstrual pains. Burn the thorns off, then break up the twigs and boil them. For a drink to cause vomiting, soak the bark in hot water until the solution is very strong. (Kari)
The Skagit of Washington state make a sore throat medicine by boiling the roots of R. nutkana with sugar. The Cowlitz use rose leaf tea for bathing a baby. (Gunther)
Culinary use:
The flowers are good to eat, but the white pip at the base should be cut
out.
Copyright © 1987 by Eleanor G. Viereck