Description: a woody shrub its shoots bear thorny, alternate, unpaired pinnatisect leaves and flowers in terminal corymbs with a swollen receptacle that produces the fleshy false fruit or hip, which contains the true fruits or achenes.

Cultivation: Perennial to zone 5.  Germinates in 2-3 months.  Space 3-4 feet apart.  Soil temperature 70-75F.  Soil should be fairly rich and well drained with a pH of 5.5-6.5.  Full sun.  Propagates best by cuttings.  Dry, hot weather produces more fragrant flowers.  The roots are dug up in summer and dried in the sun to make rose-root water.

History: The Rose is thought to have originated in Persia.  According to the ancient Greeks, the red rose, a symbol of passion, first bloomed when Aphrodite stuck her foot with a thorn and bled while assisting Adonis.  One legend has it that the rose was born from a drop of sweat that fell from the brow of Mohammed.  It gave its name to the town of Damascus several thousand years ago and to the silk material made there in the color of the flower.  Syria means "land of the rose".  From the Near East, its culture spread to Greece and Italy and the Mediterranean islands.  The flowers are depicted on the walls of the Palace of Knossos in Crete dating from 2000 BC.  Rosa comes from the Greek word for red, rodon.  The Greek poetess Sappho first christened it "Queen of Flowers" around 600 BC.

            The Gallic rose was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans, early in their history.  The Romans lavishly covered banquet floors, statues, wedding couples and the streets in front of victors with it.  The dried petals were sold from barrels in apothecary's shops, hence its name of Apothecary's Rose.  The flower was used to adorn the shields of Persian warriors several thousand years BC and was introduced by Roman legions wherever they went reaching Gaul in Northern France 2000 years ago and later, the British Isles.  That the plant is able to survive in the most arid conditions accounts for it being possibly the oldest plant known to man still in cultivation.  Spanish priests brought the plants to the missions of California where they were used for nutritive and medicinal purposes.  Four states in the US regard the rose as their state flower.  For early Christians, the rose was a symbol of the Virgin Mary. After Europe's "conversion" to the Christian religion, the rose was forbidden to be used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary because of its earlier associations with Venus, Bacchus and other classical deities.  The purer lily was adopted as her floral symbol.

The first rosaries were strung with beads made from ground rose-petal paste and rose bead necklaces are still popular.  The rose and the nightingale have long been linked together, and from France comes the legend that the rose is red from the blood of the nightingale, forming an eternal alliance of the beauty of song and flower.  Scandinavians have believed that elves colored the rose and man benefits from its special protection.  In Germany ill omens were once connected with roses and you got rid of evil spirits by burning the fallen petals.  A rose suspended over the table signified that all talk beneath it would be confidential, or sub rosa.  (The plaster rose once placed in the center of ceilings had the same meaning.) 

The story is that a Persian princess, Nour-Djihan, discovered rose oil while being rowed during her wedding procession in a canal filled with fresh roses.  The hot day caused the oil to float on the water's surface.  When the princess swept her hand into the water, it was covered with exquisite perfume.  She begged her father to have his alchemist extract the essence and the manufacture of attar of roses began in Persia in 1612.    By the 18^th century, France began making rose oil.  Currently attar of roses is mostly distilled from flowers grown in Bulgaria.  The Turkish rose oil is slightly less expensive. 

The fruit of the rose, rose hips, are a popular ingredient in herbal teas.  Its vitamin-C content is so high that British sailors during World War II were encouraged to use it as a substitute for citrus.

            Rose water, obtained by distillation, is a valuable astringent and relieves tired eyes.  Along with almond oil, spermaceti and wax, it makes a soothing cold cream.

            The cabbage rose produces both the famous Indian attar of roses which is used as perfume and for scenting soaps and bath oils, as well as the drug extracts which are official in the Indian pharmacopoeia. 

            Roses play a part in many Indian ceremonials.  Rose water is sprinkled on guests when they enter a marriage pavilion, to scent them and to cool them with its astringent quality.  It is given to elders to wash their hands as a gesture of respect.   

Rosewater: Place a brick or flat rock in a large canning pot.  Surround the brick with rose petals and cover the petals with water.  Keep the water level below the top of the brick. Place an empty stainless steel bowl on the brick.  On top of the canning pot, invert a lid and fill it with ice.  Place canning pot on high heat until all water is evaporated from the petals and distilled into the bowl.

 

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