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Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Rosa acicularis (Prickly rose)
Hampton, Nan

Rosa acicularis

Rosa acicularis Lindl.

Prickly Rose, Wild Rose

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: ROAC

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), AK (N), CAN (N)

A deciduous shrub up to 6+ ft. tall with densely prickly stems & pink, 5-petaled flowers. Foliage is pinnately compound and somewhat pubescent. Flowers, usually solitary but sometimes in small clusters, are followed by smooth rosehips.

 

From the Image Gallery

32 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Fruit Type: Achene
Size Notes: Up to about 8 feet tall.
Leaf: Green
Fruit: Red hip (mature floral tube) surrounding achenes.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Pink
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul

Distribution

USA: AK , CO , CT , IA , ID , IL , KS , MA , ME , MI , MN , MT , ND , NH , NM , NY , RI , SD , VT , WI , WV , WY
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NL , NT , NU , ON , QC , SK , YT
Native Distribution: Circumpolar, irregularly s. in N. America to w. New England, the n. Great Plains & the Rockies
Native Habitat: Thickets; stream banks; rocky bluffs; wooded hillsides

Growing Conditions

Water Use: High
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist , Wet
CaCO3 Tolerance: Low
Drought Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Rocky soils.
Conditions Comments: Susceptible to fungal problems.

Benefit

Use Food: Rosehips for jelly and tea; edible flowers.
Warning: Plant has thorns or prickles.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees
Special Value to Bumble Bees
Provides Nesting Materials/Structure for Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Propagation

Description: Propagated by stem cuttings or division of rootstock. Softwood cuttings should be taken with a heel and treated with hormone. Rose seeds should be taken from the hips as soon as ripe and planted in the open or stratified before planting. Suckers may be
Seed Collection: Hips can be collected as soon as they are ripe. Achenes can then be extracted by macerating the hips in water and recovering the seeds by flotation.
Seed Treatment: Cold-moist stratification is required to break the dormancy of most rose species.
Commercially Avail: yes

Find Seed or Plants

View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Prickly vine for fire escape in Boston
February 23, 2010
I live in Boston area and would like to plant a prickly vine that will grow on my fire escape. What do you recommend?
view the full question and answer

Advice on planting Korean dogwood (Cornus kousa) in Vancouver, BC
October 26, 2007
I live in the Vancouver, BC - Pacific Northwest area and the front of our yard faces south to southwest. If I were to plant a tree other than an evergreen, would the Korean Dogwood thrive in this are...
view the full question and answer

Sources of Rosa acicularis for research
March 25, 2007
I am a professor at the University of Nebraska and would like to obtain some Rosa acicularis plants to do research with. Can you tell me how to purchase them. Thanks.
view the full question and answer

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:AGCPAKAWCBEMPGPHIMWNCNEWMVE
Status: FACU FACU FACU FACU FACU FACU FACU
This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Rosa acicularis in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Rosa acicularis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Rosa acicularis

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-02-24
Research By: TWC Staff

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