The rose is widely used for its content of vitamin C, tannins and organic acids. It has astringent, vitamin-giving and diuretic properties. For external use it is employed as a decongestant (eye baths, gargles for inflammations ...
Rich in tannin, the dog rose is for this reason recommended against dysentery and diarrhoea. Malic and citric acids are also present in this plant. Known to country boys by the name of grattaculo (“bum-scratcher”, because the hairs inside the receptacle are very irritating), the dog rose usually ends up, as a prank, down the necklines of girls' dresses ("Le Erbe Nostre Amiche" - vol 2 - Daniele Mantra and Diego Semiolli)
Among the other shrubs of the Apennines, see the profile of the common juniper.
To recognise other species along the path, a handbook such as Fiori di Montagna is useful.
Photo gallery
Fact sheet
- Range and distribution
- The variability of the characters in the dog rose has often suggested different species. But several studies have shown that the various characters have not differentiated enough to define different species. Its range is very wide. It grows wild in Europe, Asia and North Africa. In Italy it is the commonest wild rose. It is found throughout the country between 0 and about 1600 m a.s.l.
- Ecology
- It is found in scrubland, in pastures, along hedges and in degraded woodland with deciduous oaks, beech, fir and pine.
It prefers fairly deep, well-drained soils, but adapts well to other soils. - Habit
- It is a shrub with a height varying between 30 cm and 2 m.
The stems are hairless and woody, with red, curved thorns that have an elongated, flattened base.
- Leaves
- The leaves are compound, that is made up of smaller leaflets, 5/7 per leaf. They are about 4/7 cm long, ovate-elliptical, hairy and toothed at the margins.
At the base of the leaf stalk there are the “stipules”, tiny leaflets found where it joins the branch, which in this species are elongated and attached to the leaf stalk. - Flowers and fruit
It flowers between May and July.
The flowers can be found singly at the tip of the branch or gathered in small groups of 2/3 flowers, in any case overtopped by the leaves. The petals are bilobed, 5 per flower, pink at the tips and paler, down to white, towards the centre. The flowers are 4/7 cm across.
The sepals (modified leaflets whose job is to protect the flower) at the base tend to drop quickly right after flowering.
The “cynorrhodon” or hip (the fruit of roses) is red, about 1/2 cm long, pear-shaped, and ripens in late autumn.- Bark
- Green with thorns on the young tips, and grey and fissured on the older parts.
- Uses
- The rose is widely used for its content of vitamin C, tannins and organic acids. It has astringent, vitamin-giving and diuretic properties. For external use it is employed as a decongestant (eye baths, gargles for inflammations of the mouth, for delicate and reddened skin, etc.). The flowers and leaves are used to prepare infusions and herbal teas. The petals are used for rose honey and in salads. The fruits are picked in autumn and used to make jams and decoctions. The seeds are used to prepare antiparasitic products.