Trees Shrubs of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

There are six species of wild rose on the current Garden Census. Details of each are given in comparison chart referenced below.

Prairie Wild Rose Stems: It grows erect, on short multiple stems, little branched, from 2 to 4 feet high that are densely covered with prickles at the base of older stems and with sparse reddish prickles on newer wood. New wood is green but turns reddish to purpls-reddish quickly. Stems usually die back each year because of drought or freezing, but in a more moist environment, they will survive and grow up to 3 feet high.

Leaves are alternate, pinnate with 7 to 11 oblong leaflets with sharp teeth. Teeth do not go all the way to the base of the leaf. Each leaflet is about an inch long, has either a very short stalk or no stalk but the terminal leaflet has a longer stalk. The underside of the leaf is a paler color. Both sides are smooth. The leaf stem has two stipules, each with an outward turned (flared) tooth, at the base where the leaf stalk joins the stem.

Flowers appear on this years stems, but may occur from prior year wood that survives. They can be solitary flowers on a stem but also in clusters of 2 or 3. Flowering branches do not have prickles. The flowers are 5-parted, are to 1 to 2 inches wide and have short pedicels (stalks). Petals are pink, fading toward white, while pure white petals are known but rarer. In the center of the 5 petals there are numerous stamens with yellow anthers surrounding a short, but wide column of yellow-green pistils which rise from 26 to 43 carpels. The hypanthium is globose with long-pointed sepals that persist onto the fruit after the petals drop.

Seed: Flowers mature to a smooth fleshy orange-red rose hip that contains numerous achenes (the true seeds). The flower sepals persist on the apex of the hip. Plants flower and produce seed after reaching 2 to 5 years of age. Wild Rose seeds should be sown outside in the Fall. They will germinate in the 2nd year as they need a cold moist period followed by a warm moist period followed by another cold moist period. If seed has been stored for the proper sequence of periods then it should be scarified before planting. Fall planted fresh seeds should not be scarified. While seed is cheap, bare root plants are usually available from native plant nurseries.

Habitat: The plant grows from a central crown that has deep roots typical of prairie plants. It is an aggressive spreader from its branching underground stems. The plant prefers full sun on a wide range of soils but with a higher pH (5.6 to 7.0) and has excellent drought tolerance. It is primarily a plant of the open prairies and old abandoned farmland.

Names: A number of roses that were once classed as separate varieties of this species and several others classed as separate species have recently been consolidated into this species by contemporary botanists. The genus Rosa, the Latin name for 'rose' needs no explanation. The species name, arkansana, refers to the Arkansas River (pronounced ar-KAN-zes in the west) in the the central U.S. flowing eastward from Colorado (where this species was collected) to meet the Mississippi. The river also gives its name to this rose as an alternate common name. The author name for the plant classification - ‘Porter’ is for Thomas C. Porter (1822-1901) American botanist and Professor of Botany, plant collector and co-author with John Coulter of Synopsis of the Flora of Colorado, in which in 1874 was the description of this plant.

Comparisons: See this comparison chart of the six species of wild rose in the Garden.