Kingdom Plantae Family Rosaceae Rank Species | Order Rosales Genus Rosa | |
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Similar Rosa glauca, Rosa laevigata, Rosa chinensis, Rosa banksiae, Rosa gigantea | ||
Rosa × odorata or Rosa odorata is a member of the genus Rosa native to Yunnan in Southwest China, whose taxonomy has been confused. It has been considered to be hybrid between Rosa gigantea and Rosa chinensis, or as a quite rare wild species that includes R. gigantea. The wild forms are cultivated to some extent. Cultivars were developed in China in ancient times from R. chinensis crosses, and these have been important in the ancestry of the tea-scented China roses, also called tea roses, and their descendants the hybrid tea roses.
Varieties
Four varieties of the species are recognized in the Flora of China:
The cultivar R. odorata 'Mutabilis' is widely cultivated, and is notable for the fact that the blooms change colour from yellow to pink. This cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.