smooth rose
(Rosa blanda var. blanda)
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
not yet assessed |
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NatureServe |
N5 - Secure SNR - Unranked |
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Minnesota |
not listed |
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| Wetland Indicator Status |
Great Plains |
FACU - Facultative upland | |||||
Midwest |
FACU - Facultative upland |
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Northcentral & Northeast |
FACU - Facultative upland |
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| Nativity | Native |
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| Occurrence | Common |
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| Habitat | Dry to moderate moisture. Prairies, open woodlands, forest margins, thickets, dunes, fencerows, roadsides, railroads. Full to partial sun. |
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| Flowering | Early June to Late June |
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| Flower Color | Pink or reddish |
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| Height | 36″ to 48″ |
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| Identification | This is a 36″ to 48″ tall, erect, perennial shrub that rises on a single stem or a tight cluster of 2 to 4 stems from a root crown and rhizomes. It often forms loose colonies. The stems are erect, slender, and weak. First-year stems and branches are reddish-brown to dark purplish-brown and have no prickles. As they age they become gray and rough and the lower portion of the stem develops slender, straight prickles. The upper portion of the plant remains relatively free of prickles. The leaves are alternate, deciduous, 2⅜″ to 3½″ long, and 2″ to 2¾″ wide. They are on hairy, ⅝″ to13 ⁄16″ long leaf stalks. At the base of the leaf stalk is a pair of leaf-like stipules that are fused to the base of the leaf stalk. The stipules are untoothed or may have a few glandular teeth above the middle. The leaves are pinnately divided into usually 7, sometimes 5 or 9, leaflets. The leaflets are elliptical to inversely egg-shaped, 1″ to 19 ⁄16″ long, and ⅝″ to ⅞″ wide. They are angled or rounded at the base and blunt or rounded at the tip. The upper surface is dark green, dull, and hairless. The lower surface is paler green and softly hairy. The margins are singly toothed with 10 to 17 sharp, forward-pointing teeth per side. The lower quarter of the margin is untoothed. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or cluster of 2 to 4 flowers at the ends of lateral branches of woody, previous year’s stems. The flowers are 1½″ to 2⅜″ in diameter. They are on hairless, ⅜″ to ¾″ long stalks. There are 5 green, ⅝″ to 1″ long, 1 ⁄16″ to ⅛″ wide sepals; 5 pink or reddish, ¾″ to 13 ⁄16″ long and wide petals; and numerous stamens and styles. The hypanthium is hairless. The fruit is an achene surrounded by the mature floral tube (hip). The hip is red, nearly spherical to egg-shaped, berry-like, and ⅜″ to ¾″ in diameter. It matures in early August to mid-September. |
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| Similar Species |
Other roses have prickles throughout, including on new growth. |
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| Distribution |  |
Sources: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 24, 28. | |||||
| Comments |
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| Taxonomy | Family: |
Rosaceae (rose) |
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Subfamily: |
Rosoideae |
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Tribe: |
Roseae |
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Genus: |
Rosa |
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Subgenus: |
Rosa |
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Section: |
Rosa |
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| Synonyms | Rosa blanda var. carpohispida Rosa rousseauiorum Rosa subblanda Rosa williamsii |
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| Common Names |
meadow rose prairie rose smooth rose smooth wild rose |
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Glossary
Achene
A dry, one-chambered, single-seeded fruit, formed from a single carpel, with the seed attached to the membranous outer layer (wall) only by the seed stalk; the wall, formed entirely from the wall of the superior ovary, does not split open at maturity, but relies on decay or predation to release the contents.
Hypanthium
A cup-like tubular structure of a flower formed from the fused bases of sepals, petals, and stamens, that surrounds the pistil. Its presence is diagnostic of many families, including Rose, Gooseberry, and Pea.
Pinnate
Having the leaflets of a compound leaf arranged on opposite sides of a common stalk.
Sepal
An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.
Stipule
A small, leaf-like, scale-like, glandular, or rarely spiny appendage found at the base of a leaf stalk, usually occurring in pairs and usually dropping soon.
Visitor Photos |
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Dan W. Andree |
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Wild Roses... While out in the woods I noticed a sweet smell and came upon some wild roses. They were in a nice setting with some ferns etc. |
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Slideshows |
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| Rosa blanda EARLY WILD ROSE Frank Mayfield |
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Visitor Videos |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Report a sighting of this plant. |
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| Dan W. Andree Spring 2019 |
Location: rural Norman Co., Mn. While out in the woods I noticed a sweet smell and came upon some wild roses. They were in a nice setting with some ferns etc. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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