Rosa moschata

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Rosa moschata

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Genus: Rosa
Species: R. moschata
Binomial name
Rosa moschata
Herrm.

Rosa moschata (Musk Rose) is a species of rose long in cultivation. Its wild origins are unknown but are suspected to lie in the eastern Himalayas.

[edit] Form

R. moschata is a climber (3-5m) with single white 5cm flowers in a loose cyme or corymb. The sepals are 2cm long with slender points. The flowers have a characteristic "musky" scent which is also found in its hybrid musk ancestors.

The few thorns on the stems are straight. The light green leaves have 5 to 7 ovate leaflets with small teeth; the veins are sometimes pubescent and the rhachis lacks thorns. The stipules are narrow with spreading free tips. Small ovate hips are borne.

The variety 'Plena' bears semi-double flowers.

[edit] Cultivation

No truly wild examples of the musk rose have been found, though it is recorded in cultivation as least as far back as the 16th century. It is important in cultivation as a parent to several groups of cultivated roses, notably the damask rose and the hybrid musk group.

[edit] References

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