The Origin of the Rose

[Steve Denning]

I was doing some research for an article on Roses, and found a lot of information on their history which I thought you might find interesting. It seems this is one plant we humans have admired for over 5000 years!

They are mostly native to Asia, and this is where the roses we know today were originally cultivated. The Chinese, needless to say, were the first to recognise the beauty of the plant and find a way to cultivate it. The fact that it is an easy plant to hybridise made this job much simpler. There are native roses in southern Europe, particularly Crete and also in North America.

The Egyptians planned out extensive rose gardens and the Ancient Romans made a wine from it. According to the Ancient Greeks, the Rose was the King of Plants. The oldest known rose fossil is about 35 million years old, so not only beautiful but long-lived as well!

 

[zigs]

That's interesting Steve

Do we know when the Dog Rose first arrived in the British Isles?

 

[claudine]

Thank you for the information, Steve Denning, it's really interesting. I love roses, they're my favorite flowers, I find them the most beautiful. I would love to drink rose wine made by the Ancient Romans

 

[Steve Denning]

Hi Zigs, I can tell you the name is either to do with it being so common, (dog meaning worthless), or because it was thought to be a cure for Hydrophobia caused by rabid dog bites, or that it could be named because it used to flower when Sirius, the dog star, was in the sky. Sadly, I can't find anything about when it came to Britain. It is native to Northern Europe, however, and could have been here since back when Britain was joined to Europe across the North Sea (the old land mass is meant to be called Dogger (as in the sand banks) so I wonder if there is any connection?

It was introduced to the US in the second world war because the rose-hips are so useful and extremely high in vitamin C. Will that do?

 

[zigs]

Hi Steve,

Super stuff, i'll have a look in a few of my books when I get home (on an away mission at the moment)

Often wondered about the Dogger Bank, wiki says it was known as Doggerland before it was flooded, which I assume must have been passed on by word of mouth until we learned to write it down. Must have flooded very quickly for all the mammoths to get drowned.

 

[zigs]

Home now, my books say the leaves were used as a laxative & the seeds as a diuretic.

Also that Valentine's day in the USA produces more than 9,000 tonnes of CO2 by flying in roses from abroad.

 

[blueeyes]

Very interesting information, Steve and Zigs. I love roses because of their beauty and their wonderful scent.
What an amazing stat about Valentines Day in the United States, Zigs

 

[charahome]

What great facts. I find the wine interesting. Do you have more information on that? Is it still around?

 

[LouisFerdinand]