The History and Legacy of the China Rose

By Howard Higson
Of the nearly two hundred species of roses, found
exclusively within the subtropical and temperate
northern latitudes, two have contributed uniquely
to our rose heritage: Rosa chinensis var.
spontanea (Rehd. & Wils.) T.T. Yu & Ku and R.
odorata var. gigantea (Collett ex Crépin) Rehd. &
Wils. (or R. gigantea) have provided the world
with traits highly prized in the modern age of rose
culture, thanks to centuries of domestication in
China and subsequent hybridizing in Europe .
China has, in fact, an unparalleled richness of
overall biodiversity, and its roses are found to be
no exception: 93 species and 144 varieties are
native to China , while 80 percent of these are
endemic (occur naturally only in one area).

References to Chinese floriculture date from at

least the 11th century BC and probably include
references to roses, although chrysanthemums
appear more prominently in the most ancient art
forms of China . The Zhongguo Huajing (China
Floral Encyclopedia) specifically indicates
widespread rose culture in the 4th and 5th
centuries AD. By the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279
AD), references exist to “Yuejihua,” or perpetual-
flowering roses that were extensively cultivated in
large cities with ever-increasing numbers of
varieties (41 were recorded in Luoyang alone). By
the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644), Yuejihua and
Qiangwei (rose culture) were common, with many
varieties in cultivation. Considering this far-
reaching history, rose culture in China was
doubtless the most advanced in the world until at
least three hundred years ago, in regard to
cultivars developed and cultivation techniques.

The “China rose” is actually a complex of natural

and cultivated hybrids that have evolved over
more than a thousand years in Chinese gardens.
Screen paintings from the 10th century depict a
blush China rose identical to Hume’s Tea-Scented
China, one of the four China stud roses brought to
Europe in the early 19th century. The painting
“Allegory with Venus and Cupid” (1529) by the
Florentine Angelo Bronzino (1503 to 1572) is the
first reference to the China rose known in Europe .
The same pink China may also be the subject
described in 1678 by Montaigne at the Jesuit
Monastery at Ferrara , Italy , said to be in
perpetual flower. Several 18th century references
to the China rose, from Italy , Sweden , Holland ,
and England , make clear that Europe was well
aware of this relatively new exotic at this time.

The British Museum possesses a remnant of a

crimson China rose from the Herbarium of
Gronovius, labeled “Chineesche Eglantier
Roosen” (1733). It has been confirmed as the type
specimen of R. chinensis Jacquin, named in 1768.
This taxon has persisted to this day, yet is now
known to represent a diverse group that has been
evolving in cultivation for many centuries. Its
wild ancestor was discovered nearly one hundred
and fifty years after the naming of R. chinensis
and was named R. chinensis var. spontanea. The
Koushin (“every other month”) rose of Japan, for
example, imported from China over a thousand
years ago, is quite distinct from the specimen of
Gronovius and Jacquin, yet both are R. chinensis,
with their defining characteristics and cultivated
history.

Peter Osbeck, a pupil of Linnaeus, identified a

similar specimen in the gardens of the Custom
House at Canton , China in 1751. It became his
type specimen for R. indica and yet is certainly R.
chinensis, probably identical to the “Blush Tea
China ” in Linnaeus’ herbarium. Other China rose
specimens in this herbarium include three
crimsons, one pink, and one recognized hybrid.

In 1885, when Dr. Augustine Henry (1857-1930)-

made his famous discovery of what would later be
named as the wild species, the primary ancestor of
R. chinensis and the China roses was finally
identified. Henry, having arrived in Hong Kong in
1881, later traveled up the Yangtze River to the
customs post at Ichang. He found the rose in a
narrow ravine extending from the Yangtze to the
north, near the San-yu-tung glen, and the cave and
temple of the Three Pilgrims. It was a climber like
R. banksiae with three to five leaflets per leaf and
solitary flowers generally of deep red but
sometimes pink. It is now known that flower color
of this wild species varies from almost white to
deep crimson.

The wild Tea rose, R. odorata var. gigantea, is

native to upper Burma and southwestern China
and was introduced to Europe in 1888, having
been discovered by Sir Henry Collett in the Shan
Hills of Burma in 1824. R. odorata, in like manner
as R. chinensis, refers now to garden varieties and
hybrids (the “old” Tea roses), and so the wild
species, also identified later in this case, was
named R. odorata var. gigantea, or R. gigantea,
depending upon the authority cited, to distinguish
it from its cultivated descendents. Ascending up to
40 feet, with strong shoots and hooked prickles, it
is less hardy than R. chinensis var. spontanea and
consequently more temperamental in northern
European climates. It has large drooping leaves
and large silky flowers of creamy to lemony
white, up to 5 inches across. It contributed its long
petals and elegant texture to the China roses, as
well as its remarkable fragrance, sometimes
ascribed to its foliage when crushed, but more
likely from its Tea-scented flowers. In contrast to
the above description, a second variety with white
flowers and smaller leaves has also been in
cultivation in Britain . Having been absorbed into
the Hybrid Tea lineage, old Tea roses, as
developed in China over the centuries, are now
very rare. One very popular survivor is Fortune’s
Double Yellow, discovered in 1845 by Robert
Fortune in “a rich Mandarin’s garden at Ningpo.”

Lineages of the European Roses

What exactly did these China roses have to offer

to the western world that was otherwise lacking in
European roses? To answer this question, a
cursory look at rose lineages in Europe , before
the introduction of the China rose in the early 19th
century, is necessary. The elucidation of both
ancient and modern rose genealogies was greatly
advanced in the early and mid-20th century by the
pioneering genetic research of Dr. C. C. Hurst
(1870-1947). His studies of cytology and
chromosomal inheritance, though performed at the
infancy of genetic science in the 1930s, have not
been significantly challenged to this day.

Inspired by Mendel’s papers on inheritance,

which were discovered in 1900, and working with
William Bateson of the John Innes Horticultural
Institute, Hurst developed a foundation for studies
in both plant and animal genetics. He founded the
Burbage Experiment Station for Genetics in
Leicestershire , England , working with pedigree
rose stocks and many other genera, and collecting
numerous books. After World War I, with his
station facilities in neglect and depleted of
specimens, staff, and money, he performed
extensive cytology research on roses at
Cambridge University . He planned a monograph
on rose genus classification, based on his findings
of genetic inheritance, yet was hindered by the
advent of World War II. He died soon after the
war, and his widow, Rona Hurst, carefully
maintained his copious and detailed notes and,
being skilled and knowledgeable herself, edited
her late husband’s materials and submitted them
to Cambridge . Among the publications of C. C.
Hurst are “Notes on the Origin of the Moss Rose”
(1922) and “Notes on the Origin and Evolution of
our Garden Roses” (1941). Full versions of both
appear in The Rose Book by Graham Stuart
Thomas. The following description of rose
lineages reflects these findings.

The “old roses” of Europe owe much of their

character to the Red Rose of Lancaster , R. gallica
L. (previously R. rubra Blackw., native to
Europe , Turkey , and Iraq ), the Rose of the
Persian Magi, known in antiquity and later to the
ancient Greeks and Romans. It was used by the
Median Fire Worshippers in the 12th century BC,
and Pliny, in the 1st century AD, describes it as a
vivid red with up to 12 petals. It was also known
to the Arabs in Spain during the 12th century.
When dried, its petals developed a unique,
pungent perfume, reputedly lacking when freshly
gathered (“feebly odoriferous,” as the chemist
Sawer noted in 1894). This is a significant
physiological distinction when compared to the
Damask roses, which lose their rich scent upon
desiccation. From this lineage came R. gallica
officinalis, the Apothecary’s Rose of Provins, not
to be confused with the very ancient Provence or
Cabbage Rose, R. centifolia. It was named after
the town in France that developed a thriving
industry for the production and distribution of its
aromatic dried petals, one which prospered for
several centuries. Rose water was also a product
of this rose and it was used in oils, perfumes, and
medieval cooking. Though referred to as the Red
Damask Rose for hundreds of years in England , it
is certainly a gallica, the misnomer stemming
from the belief that the Crusaders brought it from
Damascus . In the 16th century, a sport of this
became the sensational Rosa Mundi, displaying a
striking flower with pink and white stripes.

Damask roses are perhaps the most elusive and

diverse of the ancient lineages, their nomenclature
being highly confused and lacking
standardization. Two classes have been
distinguished based principally on flowering
period: the Summer and Autumn Damasks. Both
are probably the products of ancient hybrids of R.
gallica, in one case combined with R. phoenicia (a
native of Turkey and Syria ) to produce the
Summer Damasks, and in the other with R.
moschata (the Musk Rose, native to southern
Europe , northern Africa and western Asia ) to
produce the Autumn Damasks. This latter parent
comes to us from ancient times, shrouded in
mysteries relating to its flowering period,
fragrance, foliage, and numerous literary
references. Thomas acknowledges no less than
three distinct varieties of Autumn Damask,
known, respectively, to herbalists, botanists and
gardeners, and writers such as Shakespeare (The
Rose Book, 1994). It has been named as both × R.
bifera and as R. damascena var. semperflorens
(Loisel) Rowley. Before the arrival of the China
roses in the late 18th century, this rose enjoyed the
distinction of flowering a second time in the
autumn, though only under “favorable”
conditions. This capacity dates at least to the
writings of Virgil (70-19 BC) in his literary work
Georgics, in which the “biferique Rosaria Paesti”
(“twice-flowering Roses of Paestum”) are
described. Frescoes found in the ruins of Pompeii
depicting this rose further attest to its existence in
southern Italy at least two thousand years ago. In
later centuries, the Monthly Rose or Four Seasons
Rose of England ( Quatre Saisons in France )
evolved from the Autumn Damask.

Among other ancient roses of historical

importance are: the Portland Rose (named after
the Duchess of Portland) , long believed to be of
China rose ancestry (specifically, from Slater’s
Crimson China, one of the China stud roses), but
more likely the offspring of R. gallica and the
Autumn Damask; × R. alba L., the White Rose of
York, a product of R. canina (the Dog Rose,
native to Europe) and the Summer Damask. It was
long loved in European gardens and by artists as
the standard white garden rose, possibly a natural
hybrid originating in the Crimea or Caucasus
region; and R. centifolia L., the Cabbage Rose of
England, believed to be a hybrid of the White
Rose of York, mentioned above, and the Autumn
Damask. The Cabbage Rose is probably the
ancestor of the Moss rose, derived in Holland
from a bud-sport of the latter, and maintains its
own historical confusion. For years, it was
believed to be the same as the R. centifolia of
ancient legend, referred to by Herodotus and
named by Theophrastus and Pliny. Hurst believes,
however, based on literature and artwork from
“many varied sources”, that it is a highly evolved
and manipulated garden hybrid (now known more
accurately as x R. centifolia) of more recent
origins, a product of intense efforts by Dutch
breeders between 1580 and 1710.

Gordon D. Rowley of the John Innes Horticultural

Institute created two diagrams that depict the
genealogies proposed by Hurst . They appear in
Thomas’ The Rose Book (pp. 321-322) along with
Hurst’s treatises on the Moss rose and the modern
garden roses.

The China Roses’ Valuable Characteristics

The China roses that influenced rose breeding so

heavily in the last two centuries offered several
distinct traits that had been lacking in European
roses of the 18th century: repeat or perpetual
(remontant) blooming, from early or mid-summer
to late autumn (depending on the climate),
previously occurring only among the Autumn
Damasks; true crimson red coloring that did not
fade with age (“red” roses prior to this time are
thought to have been of deep or dark pink colors
at their reddest, and not the true red of the China
roses); and a lower, or “dwarf,” bushy habit. Also,
a complete new range of yellow colors appeared
in conjunction with Chinese roses, particularly
from the contribution of R. foetida Herrm. (R.
lutea, of old), the Austrian Briar Rose, native to
western Asia . In addition, new fragrances were
perceived in the China roses, some as Tea-
scented, others as fruity or “nectarine-like,” and
others as peppery. Lastly, the flowers
demonstrated a higher center than in the old roses,
and flower buds were more slender, unfurling
upon opening. The old European varieties, on the
other hand, contributed their traditionally loved
and familiar characteristics, including their
wonderful scents and many-petaled flowers.

Hurst ’s research uncovered a vitally important

characteristic pertaining to repeat flowering: this
capacity resulted from a recessive gene, found
only in the China roses. Hurst believed that this
trait was the product of a mutation, yet it has been
consistently found among cultivated Chinese
roses. He also deduced that growth habit and
flowering period were closely linked Mendelian
characters, dwarf form and repeat flowering being
coincident, and that their determining genes were
found on the same chromosome. Martyn Rix notes
that sports demonstrate this linkage, with dwarf
sports of once-flowering climbers showing repeat-
flowering, and climbing sports of repeat-flowering
dwarfs being “sparing of second crops.”

The desirable traits evident in the China roses

found their way to European breeders by way of
four distinct imports that arrived between 1792
and 1824, named the China stud roses. The vast
majority of our modern hybrids include one or
more of these four specimens as their progenitors.
These are not the typical “primary” hybrids as
would be seen in a breeding program, but are
“derivative” hybrids, the results of many
generations of incidental and intentional crossings
in Chinese gardens. Such roses, in fact, still can be
found in China today and are quite similar to these
stud roses. Drawings of Canton roses by John
Reeves, from the early 1800s, reinforce this belief,
and can be seen at the Lindley Library of the
Royal Horticultural Society in London .

The Stud Roses

Hurst determined that three of the four stud roses

are hybrids of the two wild-source species
mentioned in the introduction, the exception being
Slater’s Crimson China, determined to be a
product solely derived from R. chinensis var.
spontanea. All four are perpetual-flowering and of
dwarf habit, and demonstrate completely different
leaves, twigs, and fragrance than had previously
existed in the old roses of Europe .

Slater’s Crimson China was imported by Gilbert

Slater of Knot’s Green, Leytonstone in 1792, and
by 1798 the French, who dominated rose breeding
efforts at the time, had begun hybridization
experiments. Within a couple of years, material
had been distributed to Austria , Germany , and
Italy . (A very closely related form is actually
believed to have existed in Italy since the mid-
17th century.) Descriptions of this rose, as well as
drawings by Willmott from 1911, indicate a close
similarity to Henry’s discovery of its wild
progenitor in 1885, yet differ in regard to the
perennial flowering, dwarf habit, and semi-double
flowers displayed by Slater’s Crimson.
Additionally, this hybrid’s extremely low fertility
rate of 14 percent, as determined by Hurst , argues
for its status as a facilitated hybrid, only able to
have survived and evolved in cultivation.

Parsons’ Pink China was introduced in 1793 by

Joseph Banks, the Director of Kew Gardens in
England , having most likely been collected near
Canton by Sir George Staunton, a member of
Lord Macartney’s embassy to China , in 1792. It
may very well be identical to the rose brought to
England in 1751 by Osbeck. James Colville
propagated and sold it under the name of Pale
China Rose and later it acquired the name Old
Blush. It made its way to France in 1798, as well,
to become the subject of successful breeding
efforts and a source of many hybrids to come. By
1800, it had also appeared in North America and
would eventually give rise to a wide array of
popular descendents, including Noisette roses,
Tea roses, Hybrid Teas, and Hybrid Perpetuals.

Hume’s Blush Tea-Scented China was introduced

by Sir A. Hume from the “ East Indies ” (then
including China ) in 1810. It was originally named
R. indica odorata and later R. indica fragrans.
Hurst estimates that its Tea rose characteristics
predominate by a 2:1 margin over those of its R.
chinensis parentage. It is known for its large,
elegant, pale pink flowers that continually bloom.
It is said to have survived arduous conditions
upon importation, with only 1 in 1,000 plants
surviving first the voyage from China , exposed
on the ship’s open deck, and then an English
blockade of French ports during the Napoleonic
Wars.
Park’s Yellow Tea-Scented China was brought to
the Royal Horticultural Society in 1824, having
probably arrived from China in 1823. John Reeves
(1774-1856), chief inspector for the East India
Company at Canton from 1812 to 1831, was most
likely responsible for this import and played a
vital role in the introduction of many Chinese
plants into Europe at that time. It was given the
name R. indica sulphurea in France , where it was
quickly introduced. Like Hume’s China rose, it
was more heavily influenced by the Tea rose
parent, featuring large yellow flowers with thick
tea-scented petals and bright green leaves. It was
an important ancestor to many yellow Tea roses of
the 1800s.

The French, as mentioned above, were considered

the most proficient rose breeders of the time,
having established their preeminence in the early
1700s. The famed botanist, Claude-Antoine Thory
(1759-1827) and the renowned artist Pierre-
Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) combined to develop
and promote many of the most popular China rose
hybrids. The Empress Josephine, a passionate
lover of roses, was the overriding impetus and
beneficiary of their efforts to develop new
varieties, which appeared in great numbers at her
estate, Malmaison. Many of these were to become
progenitors of countless hybrids developed over
the next two centuries.

A complex schema has been suggested to

represent the legacy of the China stud roses.
Interbreeding, backcrossing, the use of widely
dissimilar parents, and the combining of more
than two groups in the creation of new varieties
have rendered the traditional family tree
impractical. Otherwise traceable lineages have
been blurred or corrupted due to these factors as
well as to inbreeding within the various rose
groupings, resulting in the loss of previously
recognizable group distinctions. One solution to
the problem of establishing rose lineages and
sensible classification schemes may be to forsake
ancestry completely in favor of a simple, albeit
artificial, system based solely on overt or
detectable plant features. Rowley suggests a
“sponge” structure in place of a tree, by virtue of
its 3-dimensional and reuniting network of
branches, some dead-ending and others
representing new beginnings or genetic source
material. The following is a brief review of some
major rose groupings that have evolved from the
China rose hybrids, again as described by Hurst
and presented with only minor editing by Thomas.

Groups That Arose from Hybridization with

China Roses

The Noisette and Bourbon roses were among the

first marketable products from hybridization work
with the China roses, appearing in the early 1800s.
Parsons’ Pink China and R. moschata (Miller’s
White Musk) produced the very popular American
climber Champney’s Pink Cluster (or
Champney’s Rose) in 1802. John Champney was
an affluent rice farmer and skilled gardener from
Charleston , South Carolina . His hybrid won
great acclaim for its musk aroma and large semi-
double pink flowers. This hybrid was then self-
pollinated by Charleston nurseryman Philippe
Noisette to create the first Noisette roses, soon
developed further by his brother Louis in Paris
and distributed throughout Europe . As is
characteristic of a second generation that has been
bred by self-fertilization of a hybrid, recessive
traits became evident through genetic
recombination. In this case, the recessive gene for
perpetual flowering was expressed, a trait that
would revolutionize the breeding of all modern
roses. This pattern of hybridizing the China rose
(or one of its perpetually flowering descendents)
with one of the myriad “old roses,” and then self-
fertilizing to produce a dependable number of
perpetual-flowering offspring, was to be repeated
numerous times over the following years. This
was especially important in the development of
the Hybrid Perpetuals from the summer-flowering
Hybrid China roses.
The Bourbon rose, likewise, appeared in the
second generation of breeding, this time from a
cross between Parsons’ Pink China and the Pink
Autumn Damask. This was perhaps an incidental
result from the use of both parents as hedge
plantings on the Isle de Bourbon in France . It was
developed in the years1815 to 1820 and produced
a compact, perpetual flowering hybrid with very
fragrant, rose-colored and semi-double flowers,
and nearly evergreen foliage. This rose was to
give rise to the pink Tea roses and subsequently to
various Hybrid China and Hybrid Perpetual lines
in the years to come. Both Noisette and Bourbon
roses were destined to be “improved…out of
existence” by repeated crossings with the new Tea
roses between 1820 and 1870.

The Tea rose of the 1800s was originally

described as the species R. gigantea, yet was
always known to be a hybrid product of the
Noisette/Bourbon lines combined with one of the
two Tea-scented stud roses. They have since been
reclassified by some as R. × odorata. The yellow
Noisette-Teas and pink Bourbon-Teas flourished
between 1840 and 1890, only to lose their
distinguishing characteristics, as well, this time
due to repeated crossings with the Hybrid Teas.
They have all but disappeared from cultivation.

Hybrid China roses started to appear around 1815

as a product of the China/Noisette/Bourbon roses
crossed with various summer-flowering varieties,
in particular the R. gallica and Damask varieties.
Though all Hybrid Chinas were strictly summer-
flowering, many popular varieties were
developed, and by 1830 several superior cultivars
appeared which, through crosses to
Portland/Noisette/Bourbon lines, become the
parents of the Hybrid Perpetuals. These latter
were distinguishable from their parents in that
they were bred for continuous flowering. The first
of these was the famous Rose du Roi, appearing in
1816 in the garden of the king of Sèvres at St.
Cloud in Paris . A descendent of the Portland
Rose, it reigned supreme for two decades with its
crimson, fully double flowers and intense
fragrance, flowering freely throughout summer
and fall regardless of pruning or other special
culture.

Hybrid Tea roses followed next from crosses

between Hybrid Perpetuals and the Tea roses,
appearing first in 1867. Hardiness and vigorous
growth were gained from the HPs, with delicate
coloring and shapely habit from the Tea roses. By
1884 they had become a distinct group from the
Hybrid Perpetuals, and soon produced exceptional
red varieties when back-crossed with the latter.

The Pernet Rose was the product of a specific

cross between a Hybrid Perpetual and a variety of
R. foetida Herrm. (also called R. lutea Mill.), the
Austrian Briar Rose. The latter was cultivated in
ancient times by the Saracens of the Middle East
and in northern Africa , but probably originated
from Asia Minor east to Tibet . Specifically, the
Persian Yellow Rose, a double-flowered form
introduced from Persia by Sir Henry Willock in
1838, was the parent source. Due to centuries of
cultivation, its resulting sterility was overcome by
the tireless and persistent efforts of Pernet Ducher
in Lyon , France . In addition, numerous “off”
traits, such as black spot susceptibility, early leaf
loss, poor or lost fragrance, and complete sterility
were overcome by years of careful breeding. Most
valuable of all, an unpredicted array of deep, rich,
and brilliant colors and color patterns, in addition
to the deep yellow of its R. foetida origins, was
developed.

The Poly-Pompon or Polyantha roses came about

from a cross between R. multiflora of Japan, a
strong climber with single white flowers, and a
China rose descended from Parsons’ Pink China,
known in England as the Dwarf Pink China, Fairy
Rose, or R. lawranceana, and in France as the
Bengale Pompon. A highly diverse group of
second generation offspring resulted from this
cross, from perpetual-flowering dwarfs a few
inches high to tall summer-flowering climbers;
here, once again, the linkage between flowering
and growth habit are apparent. Modern day
varieties tend more to the dwarf, perpetual-
flowering variety.

Lastly, the Poulsen Roses accord special mention

as some of the premier Floribundas, developed in
1924 in Denmark from a cross between a
Polyantha named Orléans Rose and a Hybrid Tea
named Red Star. From this descended a series of
vigorous varieties in colors ranging from pink to
scarlet, red, and crimson. Karen Poulsen, for
instance, was an especially popular offering with
its “dazzling scarlet single flowers.” Varieties
developed after 1935 tended away from the more
typical Poulsen habit, becoming more closely
aligned with the Hybrid Teas, fragrant but less
vigorous, and with larger, fuller blooms in smaller
clusters.

Recent Discoveries of R. chinensis var.

spontanea

An abbreviated list of descendents such as this

only hints at the rich and complex contributions of
the China roses. When Henry came upon the wild
source of R. chinensis in 1885, he was reaching
back through the centuries to the elusive
beginnings to much of our modern rose culture.
Other explorers, including E.H. Wilson and
Joseph Rock, were to follow in his footsteps in the
coming years, locating populations of the wild
species in China . In the mid-20th century, foreign
research was excluded from China due to the
Cultural Revolution, yet after its demise in 1976
contact with the outside world gradually resumed.

In 1983, a Japanese botanist working in China

named Mikinori Ogisu also found R. chinensis
var. spontanea. His discovery occurred on a dry,
west-facing slope in the Ichang Gorge of the
Yangtze Kiang River , within the secondary
forests of Leibo County , Hubei Province. He
described a wide range of flower colors on various
plants of this particular population, depending
upon their elevation, which ranged between 1,560
and 1,850 meters. He noted that flower color
changes from pale pink to crimson due to
exposure to the elements and to pollination. At
lower altitudes, flower color was seen to develop
quickly to a deep crimson, while at higher
elevations there appeared a slower and less
noticeable color change, with both pale pink and
crimson flowers occurring on the same plant. He
considers a cultivated variety named R. chinensis
‘Sanguinea’ (also called the Bengal Crimson 1
and depicted by Redouté) to demonstrate similar
characteristics. Over a 10-year period of
exploration in Sichuan , Ogisu found 10 locations
where native stands of the species occurred,
including a pure white-flowered population. As
seen in previously discovered populations, these
flowered only once, in early to in mid-summer.

Ogisu described the species to beof small to

medium growth habit, with smooth, reddish wood
when young, and with sparse, small, dark red
prickles when mature. Leaves are sparse with
three to five pointed leaflets that are reddish-
brown when young. Flowers are single and five-
petaled with a limp, silky texture and a loose
shape after opening. He believes that, in the past,
only double-flowered rose selections were
cultivated in China (as was true for
chrysanthemums, Rubus, Lotus, and peonies), and
that only these made their way to Europe .
Subsequent single-flowered varieties came about,
therefore, by reverting to their natural condition,
as seen in the wild.

Martyn Rix, also having observed the wild

species, has noted a strong correlation between
Ogisu’s description and both the Slater’s Crimson
and Parsons’ Pink ( Old Blush) stud roses, even
surmising that Slater’s Crimson may not be a
hybrid at all, with its crimson flowers and dwarf
form seen as distinctly similar to some of its wild-
origin relatives. He noted the amazing color
range, as well, yet adds that growth habit of the
wild specimens ranged widely, including dwarf
forms, arching shrubs, and climbers extending
high into the trees.

Future questions regarding characteristics and

classification of the two wild ancestors of the
China rose, and of the multitude of descendents
spawned from them, will best be answered
through further genetic study, including DNA and
other molecular analysis.

NOTE: Several roses have acquired the epithet

“Bengal”, having reached Europe by way of
Bengal; the reference is consequently unreliable in
representing a distinct variety.