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Roses,
any perennial shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family
Rosaceae, an almost universally distributed group of some 100
species. The great majority are native to Asia. Many are
cultivated for their beautiful, fragrant flowers. These are
commonly white, yellow, orange, pink, or red and, in wild roses,
are borne singly or in small clusters. The flowers of wild roses
usually have five petals, while the flowers of cultivated roses
are often double (i.e., with multiple sets of petals).
Roses
are erect, climbing, or trailing shrubs whose stems are
usually copiously armed with prickles of various shapes and
sizes that are called thorns. The plant's leaves are alternate
and pinnately compound (i.e., feather-formed). The rather oval
leaflets are sharply toothed. The rose plant's fleshy, sometimes
edible, berrylike "fruit" (actually the floral cup) is
known as a hip.
Roses
are native primarily to the temperate regions of the
Northern Hemisphere. Most rose species are native to Asia, with
smaller numbers being native to North America and a few to
Europe and northwest Africa. Roses from different regions of the
world hybridize readily, giving rise to types that overlap the
parental forms, and making it difficult to determine basic
species. Of the more than 100 species of roses, fewer than 10
species (most native to Asia) were involved in the crossbreeding
that ultimately produced today's many types of garden roses. |
