| Rosa laevigata | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Rosa |
| Species: | R. laevigata |
| Binomial name | |
| Rosa laevigata Michx. |
|
Rosa laevigata (Cherokee Rose) is a white, fragrant rose native to southern China and Taiwan south to Laos and Vietnam, and invasive in the United States.
It is an evergreen climbing shrub, scrambling over other shrubs and small trees to heights of up to 5–10 metres (16–33 ft). The leaves are 3–10 centimetres (1.2–3.9 in) long, with usually three leaflets, sometimes five leaflets, bright glossy green and glabrous. The flowers are 6–10 centimetres (2.4–3.9 in) diameter, fragrant, with pure white petals and yellow stamens, and are followed by bright red and bristly hips 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.6 in) diameter. The flower stem is also very bristly.
The species was introduced to the southeastern United States in about 1780, where it soon became naturalized, and where it gained its English name. It is the state flower of Georgia.
The flower is commonly associated with the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of Native Americans in the southeastern United States. Its petals represent the women's tears shed[1] during the period of great hardship and grief throughout US government-forced march from the Cherokees' home to U.S. forts, such as Gilmer. The flower has a gold center, symbolizing the gold taken from the Cherokee tribe.[2]