[Wild Roses: The Genus Rosa East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Bristly Nootka Rose, Nootka Rose
Rosa nutkana ssp. macdougalii
Synonyms: Rosa anatonensis, Rosa caeruleomontana, Rosa columbiana, Rosa durandii, Rosa jonesii, Rosa macdougalii, Rosa megalantha, Rosa muriculata, Rosa nutkana var. alta, Rosa nutkana var. hispida, Rosa nutkana var. macdougalii, Rosa nutkana var. pallida, Rosa nutkana var. setosa, Rosa rainierensis, Rosa spaldingii, Rosa spaldingii var. alta, Rosa spaldingii var. chelanensis, Rosa spaldingii var. hispida, Rosa spaldingii var. parkeri, Rosa spaldingii var. spaldingii
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Bristly nootka rose as seen at Emigrant Springs State Park, Umatilla County, OR.........June 13, 2018. The leaf margins are once serrate and lack glands at the tips of the teeth.
The photo at right shows the
large thorn of nooka rose as seen in the Simcoe Mts. of northern Klickitat County, south-central Washington.........June 16, 2007.
Characteristics:
The Nootka rose is an attractive shrub to 3 meters high. The
stems are usually green, but occasionally may be reddish. The stems grow straight
and erect, and are not intertwined as with the clustered wild rose. The prickles
are curved backward and found in pairs below the stipules or leaf petioles.
The prickles of this species are larger and thicker than those of the other
native rose species.
The leaves are alternate on the stems and they are pinnately
compound with 5-7 leaflets. The leaflets are dark green above and paler and
slightly hairy below. The leaflets are elliptic or ovate in shape with serrate
or doubly serrate margins, and range from 1-7 cm long and 0.7-4.5 cm wide.
The pink or rose-colored flowers are usually solitary, although
2-3 may be found at the ends of newer, prickleless side branches. The flowers
are large sweetly scented, and showy, ranging from 5-8 cm across. Individual
petals are 2.5-4 cm long, and 5 petals are the norm for the flowers. The rose
hips are spherical, orange -red and large, ranging from 1-2 cm wide. The sepals
and dried stamens remain attached to the tips.
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. The Nootka wild rose may be used as a hedgerow or as an ornamental.
4. Native Americans mashed the leaves together and made a poultice
for application to sore eyes, abscesses, and bee stings.
5. 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.
Fruit
or rose hip of the Nootka rose shown in the photo at right. Note the sepals which
persist on the hip.
Habitat:
Nootka rose may be found in open upland woods or in open shrub
wetlands. In areas where both Rosa nutkana and Rosa
woodsii occur, the former may be found at higher elevations and
often in woods.
Range:
Nootka rose may be found from Alaska south through British Columbia
and west of the Cascades through Washington and Oregon to northern California.
It may be found in northern Oregon to the Blue Mts, and in the Rocky Mountains
of Colorado and Utah.
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These photos show close-up images of the flower and flower bud of nootka rose as seen in the Simcoe Mts. of northern Klickitat County, south-central Washington.........June 16, 2007. Note the numerous stamens with wrinkled anthers.
Also note the long, thin sepals, each of which is covered with numerous short hairs.
This photo shows the flower of bristly nootka rose as seen at Brooks Memorial State Park.........June 4, 2021.
The photo above shows a close-up of the pinnately compound leaf of nootka rose as seen in the Simcoe Mts. of northern Klickitat County, south-central Washington.........June 16, 2007. Note that the teeth of the leaflets are singly serrate. In other words, each tooth does not have smaller teeth along its edge.
What appears to be nootka rose as seen in the Bailey Creek drainage between Forest Roads 30-500 and 30-600, Okanogan National Forest........July 11, 2015. Note how prickly the stems are.
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Flower of what appears to be a nootka rose as seen at left at Camas Lands NAP to the southeast of Leavenworth, Washington.......June 5, 2015. The photo at right shows a nootka rose along spur road 160 near the locked gate, about one-quarter of a mile above the junction with Forest Road #41, Umatilla National Forest......June 17, 2023.
Paul Slichter
