Rosa omeiensis

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iRosa omeiensis
Rosa omeiensis f. pteracantha
Rosa omeiensis f. pteracantha
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Genus: Rosa
Species: R. omeiensis
Binomial name
Rosa omeiensis
Rolfe

Rosa omeiensis is a species of Rosa native to central and southwestern China in the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan; it grows in mountains at altitudes of 700-4,400 m.

R. omeiensis f. omeiensis
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R. omeiensis f. omeiensis

It is a shrub growing to 4 m tall, often very spiny. The leaves are deciduous, 3-6 cm long, with 5-13 leaflets with a serrated margin. The flowers are 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, white, with (unusually for a rose) only four petals. The hips are red to orange-yellow, 8-15 mm diameter, with persistent sepals, and often bristly.


There are four formae:

  • Rosa omeiensis f. omeiensis.
  • Rosa omeiensis f. glandulosa T.T.Yü & T.C.Ku.
  • Rosa omeiensis f. paucijuga T.T.Yü & T.C.Ku.
  • Rosa omeiensis f. pteracantha Rehder & E.H.Wilson.

It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the closely related species Rosa sericea.

R. omeiensis f. pteracantha
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R. omeiensis f. pteracantha

[edit] Cultivation and uses

R. omeiensis f. pteracantha is grown as an ornamental plant for its large, bright red thorns.

[edit] References