New Zealand Rose Relatives

New Zealand has no native true roses, however, within the wider Rosaceae family it has 30 species in four genera. These are: bidibids (18 species of Acaena – which are atypical rose relatives because they lack petals), six geums, five bush lawyers (Rubus, which are dioecious and not apomictic like their blackberry cousins), and one species of potentilla.

Naturalised roses

Sweet brier (Rosa rubiginosa) a rose that has been too successful in New Zealand

There are over 100 naturalised species of rose relatives in New Zealand, covering about 40 genera. This includes some 13 species of true roses, but only one of these, sweet brier (R. rubiginosa), which is native to Europe and North Africa, has naturalised throughout New Zealand. In fact, sweet brier has reached serious weed status, especially in the drier areas of New Zealand. It also grows wild on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf islands. Blackberries (Rubus), including 18 microspecies, are well known weeds throughout New Zealand.

The Museum’s herbarium holds over 2,370 pressed specimens in the rose family: New Zealand natives (950 sheets), naturalised (740), cultivated (340), and over 340 collected overseas.

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