Rose

The rose is a perennial thorny shrub 1–2 m tall with many branches; the strong stems have smooth purplish-brown bark and curved, stout, flattened prickles whose number varies from many to almost none. The leaves are alternate and pinnate, 12–27 cm long, with 3–5 (rarely 7) ovate to ovate-oblong leaflets 2.5–6 cm long and 1–3 cm wide, wedge-shaped at the base, tapering to a point, sharply toothed and glossy dark green above. The flowers are bisexual, radially symmetrical, 4–5 cm across, usually in groups of four or five (rarely solitary) and mildly fragrant; in the wild form (var. spontanea) there are five pink to red petals, many stamens and many carpels, while cultivated forms are usually double. The fruit is a red false fruit (rose hip), egg- to pear-shaped, 1–2 cm in diameter. In China it flowers from April to September and the hips ripen from June to November; the chromosome number is 2n = 14.

According to Kew POWO, Rosa chinensis originates in south-west China, native to the provinces of Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei and Guizhou, growing on rocky slopes and hills in the temperate zone; because it has long been cultivated in Chinese gardens, wild and cultivated forms are hard to distinguish. From the China roses introduced to Europe in the late 18th century, it passed its repeat-flowering trait to modern roses and, with Rosa gigantea, gave rise to the tea roses and hybrid tea roses. Today roses are grown worldwide for cut flowers (the Netherlands, Ecuador, Colombia and Kenya lead exports) and for oil distillation: the Damask rose (Rosa × damascena) is concentrated in the Valley of Roses around Kazanlak (Bulgaria), Isparta (Turkey) and Kashan/Qamsar (Iran). In Vietnam, roses are grown mainly in Da Lat, Sa Pa, Moc Chau and other cool highlands.

Rose oil (steam-distilled rose otto, or solvent-extracted rose absolute) is one of the most expensive materials in perfumery; its main constituents are citronellol (about 15.9–35.3%), geraniol (8.3–32.2%), nonadecane (4.5–16.0%) and heneicosane (2.6–7.9%), together with nerol, citronellal and phenylethyl alcohol. The oil content is extremely low: several thousand kilograms of petals (about 3,000–5,000 kg depending on the source) are needed for 1 kg of oil, so the flowers are hand-picked in the early morning. Besides the oil, rose petals contain flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol and their glycosides), anthocyanins (cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside, peonidin), hydrolysable tannins (ellagitannins such as rugosin and gallic acid) that give an astringent taste, as well as carotenoids and vitamins. The rose hip is famous for its ascorbic acid (vitamin C), organic acids, sugars and pectin.

The rose is a multi-use plant: cut flowers, arrangements and decoration; petals distilled for perfume and rose water; petals and buds used in tea, rose-petal preserve (gulkand), sweets, ice cream and Middle Eastern–Indian spice mixes (ras el hanout); hips made into tea, syrup and vitamin-C-rich jam, and rose-hip seed oil used in cosmetics. In research, Boskabady et al. (Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, 2011) reviewed the pharmacological evidence for Rosa damascena: hypoglycaemic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, mildly laxative and sedative effects; Mahboubi (Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 2016) catalogued its novel applications; Seify et al. (2018) and several GC-MS studies identified citronellol, geraniol and nonadecane as the main constituents. Geraniol has been assessed for antibacterial, anticancer and lipid-lowering potential (Hadian et al., 2020).

On safety, neat rose oil should not be taken internally and must be diluted for skin use; the fragrant constituents geraniol, citronellol and nerol are fragrance allergens that must be labelled under EU rules and may cause contact dermatitis in sensitive people (Lalovski et al., 2025). Rose petals are generally safe to eat in food amounts, but flowers sprayed with pesticides should be avoided, and the seed hairs inside rose hips must be removed before eating. On conservation, Rosa chinensis is not globally threatened (it has not been separately assessed by the IUCN, i.e. NE) because it is widely cultivated; the main risks are the shrinking habitat of the wild form in south-west China and the loss of genetic diversity among old garden roses. Conservation priorities are to maintain collections of old rose cultivars and wild germplasm, and to sustain organic farming practices in the traditional distillation regions.