Rambling Rose

Description

Rosa helenae is a species of climbing rose, classified in the section Synstylae, native to China (Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan) as well as Thailand and Vietnam. It is found in forest edges, brush areas, on the banks of waterways and on slopes between 1,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level. It is a sarmentose shrub whose stems, robust, slightly thorny, can reach 9 meters in length, growing in hedges or forming thickets. The odd-pinnate leaves usually have seven to nine ovate lanceolate leaflets, each leaflet, lanceolate-acuminate, 3 to 5 cm long by 1 to 3 wide. The flowers, small (2.5 to 3 cm in diameter), simple, have five white petals. They are grouped in terminal corymbs in the form of umbels. The styles are welded in column. Flowering occurs at the end of spring - beginning of summer (from May to July). The ovoid fruits, shiny red when ripe, are 0.8 to 1 cm in diameter. A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses. The leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species they are 5 to 15 centimetres (2.0 to 5.9 in) long, pinnate, with (3–) 5–9 (–13) leaflets and basal stipules; the leaflets usually have a serrated margin, and often a few small prickles on the underside of the stem. Most roses are deciduous but a few (particularly from Southeast Asia) are evergreen or nearly so. The flowers of most species have five petals, with the exception of Rosa sericea, which usually has only four.