Wild Rose
(Rosa virginiana)
Scented petals have formed a puddle:
a pool of colour
still wet with the rain.
Showers fell
for most of the day
in a heavy spray,
bringing the blossoms
down to the ground:
plum-coloured hearts
from a prickly plant.
Wind (with the rain) performed the art
without a brush or a box of paint
as it scattered the roses and laid them down:
in a whimsical beauty that defied design.
Suzanne Stewart
WILD ROSE
Roses have been a symbol of love, beauty and purity in society for thousands of years. They have been portrayed in art, music and poetry in multiple civilizations throughout history. In Indigeonous cultures, roses are seen as a cleansing flower, used as a natural medicine, as well as used for protection. It is common to have roses hung over a baby’s cradle while they are sleeping. The oldest rose fossil was found over 35 million years ago, and records show the first rose cultivation by humans starting 5,000 years ago in China.
Physical Description
A wild rose bush will grow one to three meters in height. When these bushes begin flowering, they create a beautiful pink, five petaled flower. The shade of pink depends on the species of rose: some species have paler pink flowers and others, a deeper pink coloured flower. In the wild, the flowering season for roses is in late spring and early summer. On the stem there are alternating pinnate leaves, which are seven to fourteen centimeters long. The stem also has spines growing to fend off predators. After a successful pollination by a bee or bird, these roses will close and form a rose hip, which is the fruit of the rose, and ripens in early autumn, containing seeds for dispersal.
Habitat
Wild roses are known to be tolerant of many environments. They do need a lot of sunlight, but grow well in dry or wet soil and are tolerant of varying soil acidity. They successfully grow in plateaus, prairies, ravines and open woods. The only place where wild roses do not grow well is at high elevations. Geographically, wild roses are found in more northern areas, including northern Asia, Europe and North America, but not in the southern hemisphere.
Ecological and Health Benefits
Roses have many uses aside from symbolization. In nature, roses produce pollen and nectar which give nutrition to pollinators including many types of bees and flies. Equally, rose hips are collected by birds, squirrels, rabbits, and bears for food during winter. The rose hips are very high in vitamin C and antioxidants, and were used in the past by humans as a natural treatment against scurvy. Humans also use roses because of their anti-inflammatory properties. Rose petals can be ground and added to skin creams and cosmetics for irritated skin, and have also been added to oral medications to reduce inflammation in muscles. Rose petals are often added to foods as well such as honey, oil, brandy and even salads.
Roses are also popular because of their scent. They have an alluring scent that serves to attract pollinators, but humans have taken advantage of this as well. They are often used in potpourri. The fragrance of a rose is one of the reasons it is a symbol of love. The best time to harvest a rose for the petals is in the spring just after it blooms because this is when the scent is the strongest.
Biomimicry
Rose petals have the amazing ability to shed water in little droplets. They almost never seem to be “wet”. Yet the water droplets will cling to the surface. This is because rose petals, along with many other plants, control how water reacts on their surfaces because they have very complicated micro and nanostructures. By using different amounts of “hydrophobic and hydrophilic” chemicals, different plants have different levels of ‘wet-ability’. Hydrophobic means “water fearing” and hydrophilic means water loving. Leaves or petals with a lot of hydrophilic chemicals seem to look wet after a rainfall. Leaves or petals with lots of hydrophobic chemicals (like waxes) seem to repel water (like cabbage leaves). Scientists all over the world have been studying different plants and copying their mechanisms to make materials with different ‘wet-abilities’. They have also made paints the are water and dirt repelling, using these principles.
(https://www.wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp/en/aimresearch/highlight/2009/20090727_000776.html; https://www.stocanada.com/wp-content/content/Products/Coatings/Brochures/EN/BR_StoCoat%20Lotusan_EN_%20Web_S647C.pdf)
-Ryan Small
