Scientific name Rosa chinensis Rank Species | Genus Rosa Higher classification Rose | |
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Similar Beach rose, Rosa multiflora, Rose, Moutan peony, Japanese camellia | ||
Rosa chinensis china rose
Rosa chinensis (Chinese: 月季, pinyin: yuèjì), known commonly as the China rose or Chinese rose, is a member of the genus Rosa native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The species is extensively cultivated as an ornamental plant, originally in China, and numerous cultivars have been selected which are known as the China roses. It has also been extensively interbred with Rosa gigantea to produce Rosa × odorata, and by further hybridization the tea roses and hybrid tea roses.
Contents
It is a shrub growing to 1–2 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, have 3-5 leaflets, each leaflet 2.5–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. In the wild species (sometimes listed as Rosa chinensis var. spontanea), the flowers have five pink to red petals. The fruit is a red hip 1–2 cm diameter.
Rosa chinensis var spontanea in china
Varieties
Three varieties of the species are recognized in the Flora of China:
Uses
Cultivars developed from Rosa chinensis have been important in the breeding of many modern garden roses by providing the repeat-blooming characteristic, although this is not a feature of the wild species.