Roses

Scientific name: Rosa (genus)

INTRODUCTION

Famous for their gorgeous flowers and fragrant aromas, roses are shrubs that flower in crimson, peach, yellow, orange, pink, and white hues and have prickly stems. Roses are generally native to Asia, with some species native to North America, Europe, and Africa.

TYPES OF ROSES

Roses come in more than one hundred species, hybrids, and varieties, which all originated from wild roses, which only have five petals. The main types of roses include, but are not limited to, grandiflora roses, hybrid tea roses, English roses, floribundas, and miniature roses.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

From before the time of the ancient Greeks, the rose was an important flower in society. Today, numerous countries have chosen the rose as their national flower. The rose is also associated with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, and the Virgin Mary. Overall, this flower is the most significant flower in Western culture.

USES

Food and Drink: Rose-flavored foods abound. Rose-scented ice cream, rose-flavored cupcakes, and sugared rose petals are just a few examples of rose-inspired foods. Rose petals alone may also be added in salads. As for beverages and other liquids, roses can be made into rose water, rose teas, rose syrups, and more.

Perfumes: Roses appear in a great variety of beauty products because of their sweet scents. These products include perfumes, toners, and creams.

INTERESTING FACTS

Rose cultivars are sometimes named after people. Mozart, the talented classical composer; Abraham Lincoln, the influential American president during the American Civil War; Napoleon Bonaparte, the French leader of the late 1700s; and Audrey Hepburn, the outstanding British actress of the 1900s all have cultivars named after them.

A “Thousand-year rose”, also known as Rose of Hildesheim, grows on a cathedral wall in Germany and is at least 700 years old.