[Wild Roses: The Genus Rosa East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]

Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose

Rosa gymnocarpa

Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota

Flower of Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota)

A flower of little wild rose as seen along the trail uphill to the south of the campground at Catherine Creek State Park, Union County, Oregon.......June 13, 2018.

Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota)Characteristics:

Little wild rose is an attractive shrub with slender, lax stems arising from 30-120 cm in height. The stems are reddish and armed with numerous, straight, soft, fine prickles which are much smaller than those of the other native rose species. The leaves are pinnately compound with 5-9 elliptic to ovate leaflets which are rounded or occasionally pointed tips. The leaflets are thin, dark green above and pale below, and have double-toothed leaf margins, the teeth usually tipped with minute glands.

The flowers are small and usually 1-2 cm across. They are usually solitary at the branch ends. The rose hips are smooth surfaced with pointed tips. They are red or orange, about 6-8 mm long, and do not have the sepals and dried stamens ate the tip of the fruit.


Importance:

1. Dried flower petals for scents, potpourri.

2. Rose hips are high in vitamin C, may be made into jam, tea, and used as flavoring.

3. Little wild rose may be used as a hedgerow or as an ornamental.

4. The fruits are an important food source by various herbivores and upland game birds. The leaves and twigs are eaten by numerous browsers, and rose thickets provide excellent nesting and escape habitat for songbirds.


Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota)

Habitat:

The little wild rose may be found in moist to dry woods, or in open upland sites from sea level to nearly 6000 feet in elevation. It is generally not a lowland, wetland plant.


Range:

Little wild rose may be found from southern British Columbia south along the western crest of the Cascades to the Sierra Nevada of California. It is found eastward in through Canada to the west slopes of the Rocky Mts in northwest Montana. It is found south along the western edge of Idaho to Boise, and in the Ochoco-Blue Mts and Wallowa Mts. of north-central and northeastern Oregon.


Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota) - Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota) - Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota)

Little wild rose as seen in forest on the north side of Kamiak Butte, Kamiak Butte County Park, Whitman County, Washington.........June 10, 2013.

Baldhip Rose, Dwarf Rose, Heller's Rosewood, Wood Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa (Synonyms: Rosa dasypoda, Rosa gymnocarpa var. gymnocarpa, Rosa helleri, Rosa leucopsis, Rosa prionota)


Paul Slichter