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History & Development of Roses
Why is the rose so prolific – take a journey through Wonderland to meet some key characters from the rose genus Rosa sub-family and learn about how they have evolved and have been manipulated so successfully across the globe.
Rosa Gallica 'Officinalis'
The oldest garden rose known and cultivated in western world. Rosa gallica 'Officinalis' is also known as the Apothecary’s rose due to its extensive use in medicine, officinalis meaning 'relating to pharmacy'.
There have been several periods in the history of the rose; originating with the wild or species roses, the discovery of China roses and the breeding of the modern roses - hybrid perpetuals followed by the introduction of the hybrid tea roses. It is impossible to state where roses were first cultivated. At the beginning of the 1800's the ancestors of the modern rose were barely different from wild species.
Evidence suggests actual garden cultivation began some 5,000 years ago (possibly in China) and earliest written mention of the rose is an inscription from Sargon I of Akkad after an invasion of Turkey around 2350 BC. Frescoes from Knossos on the Island of Crete depict the rose from around 1900 B.C. Archaeological finds or rose wreaths of rosa x richardii, the Holy rose of Abyssinia were found in 1888, indicate Egyptians were familiar with the flower by 170 AD.
Rose prickles have been found preserved in Hera’s Temple on the island of Samos from around 500 BC. Theophrastus, arguably the first Western botanist, catalogued roses about 300 B.C. with first known detailed botanical description of rose, differing ‘ in the number of petals, in roughness, in beauty of colour and in sweetness of scent’. By Pliny’s time, most popular roses were said to come from Praeneste and the most sweetly scented from Cyrene in Libya.
A mere handful of species have been utilised for rose cultivation in Europe, many originating from the Gallicanae group. Rosa gallica is considered the common ancestor of the Gallicas, Damasks, Provence and Moss roses and the White roses that form the ‘old’ garden roses group. All these roses, with the exception of the Autumn Damask, flowered only in midsummer for a limited period. Most were pastel hues of pink, pure white or deeper purples. All were fragrant. |
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Rosa xalba
The rose found favour in medieval times with its beneficial healing properties. Monasteries providing medicinal care grew roses for use in remedies, salves and potions and in turn became centres of botanical research, combining and growing new rose species bought back from Crusades.
Rosa xdamascena
First appearing around 900 B.C., Rosa xdamascena with their petals rich with fragrant oils, have been used for centuries for oil extraction and rose water.
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