A Rose

A rose is a perennial flowering shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family rosaceae, that contains over 100 species. The species form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp thorns. Most are native to Asia, with smaller numbers of species native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. Natives, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and fragrance. [1]

The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound, with sharply toothed oval shaped leaflets. The plants fleshy edible fruit is called a rose hip. Plants range in size from tiny miniature roses to climbers that can reach 20 metres. Species from different parts of the world easily hybridize, giving rise to the many types of garden roses.

The name originates from Latin rosa, borrowed through Oscan from colonial Greek in southern Italy: rhodon (Aeolic form: wrodon), from Aramaic wurrdā, from Assyrian wurtinnu, from Old Iranian *warda (cf. Armenian vard, Avestan warda, Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr).[2][3]

Attar of rose is the steam-extracted essential oil from rose flowers that has been used in perfumes for centuries. Rose water, made from the rose oil, is widely used in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Rose hips are sometimes made into jam, jelly and marmalade or brewed for tea, mainly for their vitamin C content. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used to produce an oil used in skin products.