Rosa rubiginosa seed

LATIN NAME: ROSA RUBIGINOSA

COMMON NAME: Sweet Briar

The sweet briar glows the dense, deciduous shrub with the prickly, arching stems and the small, ferry leaves that scent the air with the fresh, apple-like fragrance, the single, cupped, soft-pink flowers with the pale centres glowing along the stems through the summer, the small, round, red hips following. The shrub grows quickly into the tall, dense, thorny mound, and it stands the cold and the poor, dry soil well. It likes the sun, and the well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The apple-scented leaves of the sweet briar give it a recognised place in the research on the fragrant wild roses of the great rose family, and the rubiginosa species appears in the studies of the hedgerow rose breeding and the hip chemistry. The work looks at the way the glandular leaves scent the air, the vitamin-rich hips, and the seed handling. The horticulturists value the scent, and the growers of the wildlife and hedgerow roses keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the warm hedge, the sweet briar glows the summer hedge with the soft-pink flowers and the apple scent. The hips make the fine syrups and the teas, the dense, thorny growth makes the impenetrable hedge, and the pink flowers open for the bees. It grows well in the well-drained, sunny ground. Apple-scented, pink-glowed and hedge-tough.

To grow the Sweet Briar from seed, scrape the seeds out of the ripe hips, then sow them into the trays of the gritty mix, leave the trays outside in the cold through the winter, and keep the mix damp.

Scrape the seeds out of the ripe hips, and pot the young shrubs on as they grow. The glow blooms come within the season. The young shrubs emerge in the spring, and the glow blooms will pink through the summer.

Rosa rubiginosa ‘Sweet Briar’
Rosaceae: A compact hedgerow shrub to 3m, upright stems bear short, curved thorns, bristles and glands. Flowers are 2-3cm across, pink; in clusters of up to 3, blooming from June-July, the hips are ovoid, red with persisting sepals, the leaves have a sweet smell when bruised. Native to Britain but only locally common.
USES:
The Fruit can be cooked and used in making jellies, they taste is best after been frosted, but be sure to remove the seed hairs, as these hairs can cause irritation to the mouth and digestive tract if ingested. A pleasant tasting fruity-flavoured tea is made from the fruit, it is rich in vitamin C, and the seeds are said to be a good source of vitamin E.
The flowers and hips are aperient, astringent and stomachic, an infusion of dried rose petals can be used to treat headaches and dizziness, with honey added the infusion is used as a heart and nerve tonic and a blood purifier, a decoction of the petals is used to treat mouth sores. The seed is rich in vitamin E and an oil extracted from the seed is used externally in the treatment of burns, scars and wrinkles, the fruit of many members of this genus is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals, especially in vitamins A, C and E, flavanoids and other bio-active compounds. It is also a fairly good source of essential fatty acids, which is fairly unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated as a food that is capable of reducing the incidence of cancer and also as a means of halting or reversing the growth of cancers.
GROWING INFORMATION:
Seed can be sown as early in the year as possible and cold stratified for at least 6 weeks at 5°c or below. Rose seed often takes two years to germinate.