Rosa gallica

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iRosa gallica

wild Rosa gallica

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Subfamily:	Rosoideae
Genus:	Rosa
Species:	R. gallica

Binomial name

Rosa gallica
L.

Rosa gallica, or the Gallic Rose (also French Rose, Rose of Provinces) is a Rose species native to Southern and Central Europe eastwards to Turkey and the Caucasus. It is one of the earliest cultivated species of roses, being cultivated by the Greek and Romans and it was commonly used in Mediaeval gardens. In the 19th century it was the most important species of roses to be cultivated and most garden roses has R. gallica in its ancectry. The semidouble cultivar 'Officinalis', the "Red rose of Lancashire", is the county flower of Lancashire.

1 Description
2 Cultivation
3 Cultivars
4 References

[edit] Description

A low shrub forming large patches up to 80 cm. Stems with prickles and glandular bristles. Leaflets 3-7, bluish-green. Flowers 1-4, single, fragrant, deep pink. Hip globose to ovoid, orange to brownish.

[edit] Cultivation

Easily cultivated on well drained soil in full sun to semishade. USDA Zone 5, will survive –25°C.

[edit] Cultivars

Most modern rose cultivars has R. gallica in their ancestry. Cultivars of the species R. gallica and hybrids close in appearence are best referend to as the Rosa Gallica-group. The ancestry is usually unknown and the influence of other species can not be ruled out.

The Gallica-group roses share the vegetative characters of the species, forming low suckering shrubs. The flowers can be single, but most commonly double of semidouble. The colors range from white (rare) to pink and deep purple. All Gallica-group roses are once flowering. They are easily cultivated.

In 2004, a cultivar of the Gallica-group named 'Cardinal de Richelieu' was genetically engineered to produce the first blue rose.