Nature Pathway

Through the Nature Pathway we explore the world of roses, the most well-known flowers in the Rosaceae family.

Rose Prickles
From left to right:  Rosa omeiensis ‘Pteracantha’, Rosa rugosa ‘Scabrosa’, Rosa pimpinellifolia ‘Stanwell Perpetual’, Rosa ×alba ‘Jeanne d’Arc’

People have been besotted with roses for thousands of years. They flowered in ancient Chinese gardens, bloomed by the river Nile in Cleopatra’s Egypt and scented the bowers of Persian princes.

But the rose originated long before civilisation. It evolved 40 million years ago in central Asia, before diversifying into around 150 species scattered across the temperate and subtropical zones of the northern hemisphere.

The roses most beloved by people were those whose bloom was brightest, fragrance the sweetest, or whose properties were believed to be medicinal or purifying. Nearly all modern hybrids can trace their ancestry to a handful of rose species with such qualities.

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