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| ## Woods' Rose {#woods-rose .Title-Header}                            |
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| *Rosa woodsii* Lindl.                                                 |
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| Plant Symbol = ROWO                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Biota of
North America Program

### 

## Alternate Names 

Common wild rose, wild rose, mountain rose

## Uses

*Wildlife*: Fruits of Woods' rose are a good source of energy and
protein and are eaten by many animals, including squirrels, deer,
coyotes, and bears. Many birds and mammals are sustained by the
persistent dry hips when the ground is covered with snow. The plants are
browsed by livestock and big game from spring through fall, but the
young spring leaves are especially palatable. Porcupines and beavers
also browse the leaves. Thickets formed by Woods' rose provide nesting
and escape cover for many birds and small mammals.

*Conservation*: The rhizome system makes Woods' rose effective in
erosion control, and the species has been used to revegetate disturbed
sites along road cuts, streambanks, and seeps. Plants are used as
ornamentals near homes to attract birds and other wildlife.

*Ethnobotanic*: Native Americans used the roots, stems, leaves, flowers,
and fruits of Woods' rose for foods and therapeutic materials. The hips
are a source of vitamin C and are dried for use in flavoring teas,
jellies, fruitcakes, and puddings. The inner bark and roots were boiled
to treat diarrhea and stomach aliments and a tea was made from the bark
to treat muscles.

## Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator
values.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6041666666666665in"
height="1.863888888888889in"}

## Description

Rose family (Rosaceae). Native subshrubs or shrubs growing 0.2-2(-3) m
high, rhizomatous, with shallow, frequently branching fibrous roots,
sometimes forming nearly impenetrable thickets; stems reddish-brown to
gray, with straight or slightly curved prickles. Leaves are deciduous,
alternate, odd-pinnately compound, leaflets 5-7(-11), obovate to ovate
or elliptic, ca. 1.5-3(-4) cm long, finely toothed toward the tip.
Flowers occur on branches lateral from the old wood, 10-20 cm long, few
in a cluster at the stem tip, less commonly solitary; petals 5,
(10-)15-25 mm long, pink to lilac-pink, or lavender; sepals lanceolate,
1-2 cm long, erect and usually persistent, tomentose on the margins and
inner surface. Fruit is a fleshy, red, globose to ellipsoid "hip" 5-12
mm wide, derived from the base of the sepals and petals; nutlets 15-35,
3-4 mm long. Named for Joseph Woods, 1776-1864, an early English student
of roses.

*Variation within the species*: many variants have been described, and
the species now includes many roses previously described as species. The
following varieties are sometimes now recognized (Cronquist & Holmgren
1997) but they are combined as a single variable species by others
(e.g., Ertter 1993 in The Jepson Manual).

*Rosa woodsii* var. *glabrata* (Parish) Cole -- CA

*Rosa woodsii* var. *gratissima* (Greene) Cole -- CA and NV

*Rosa woodsii* var. *ultramontana* (S. Wats.) Jepson

*Rosa woodsii* var. *woodsii*

Woods' rose forms natural hybrids with *R. acicularis* Lindl., *R.
arkansana* Porter, *R. blanda* Ait., and probably others.

Woods' rose is recognized among many similar species of rose by its
combination of shrubby, thicket-forming habit, stems with straight
prickles, and leaves and sepals without glands.

## Distribution 

Widely distributed over western North America, from Ontario and
Manitoba, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, south to Texas and northern
Mexico, west to California and Alaska through every other western state
and province. Var. *woodsii* (see below) occurs in Alaska and Yukon but
no other provinces or states bordering the Pacific; var. *ultamontana*
is the far-western entity, sometimes regarded as including var.
*glabrata* (California endemic) and var. *gratissima* (California and
Nevada). For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page
for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

## Adaptation 

Woods' rose is commonly a dominant species on riparian and wetland
sites, but it is adapted to a broad range of moisture conditions. It is
common in various regions as a pioneer on disturbed sites, especially
along roadsides and south-facing cutbanks. It occurs on bluffs, dry
grassy slopes, prairie sandhills, and in clearings in boreal and
subalpine forests or sometimes as an understory species in stands
dominated by cottonwood, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir. Moderate
shade-tolerance allows it to persist as an understory species in
mid-seral to climax communities; at elevations of 800-3500 meters.
Flowering June-August; fruiting August and into the fall, the hips
remaining on the plant through the winter.

## Establishment

Woods' rose produces flowers and fruits at about 2-5 years of age. Good
crops are usually produced every 2 years. Birds and mammals eat the
fruits and disperse the seeds in droppings. The seeds remain viable for
2-5 years, and after warm or cold stratification, they germinate within
30 to 40 days. Woods' rose also reproduces through rhizomes, root crown
sprouts, and layering. Establishment for ornament or rehabilitation is
from transplants, hardwood cuttings, and direct seeding.

## Management

Fire of low- to moderate-severity typically top-kills Woods' rose, but
sprouts from root crowns and rhizomes enable it to persist or even
increase. The shallow root crowns are injured by severe fire and
populations consequently may decrease in vitality and abundance.
Reproduction from seed is rarely observed after fire, and seedling
growth rate in a burned area may be slow.

## Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These plant materials are readily available from commercial sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

## References

Blauer, A.C., A.P. Plummer, E.D. McArthur \[and others\] 1975.
*Characteristics and hybridization of important Intermountain shrubs. I.
Rose family*. Res. Pap. INT-169. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain
Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, Utah.

Cronquist, A. and N.H. Holmgren 1997. *Rosa*. Pp. 134-140, IN:
*Intermountain flora*. Vol. 3, Part A. Subclass Rosidae (except
Fabales). New York Bot. Garden, Bronx, New York.

Tesky, J.L. 1992. *Rosa woodsii*. IN: W.C. Fischer (compiler). *The fire
effects information system* \[Data base\]. USDA, Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station, Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory.
Missoula, Montana. \<http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/\>

## Prepared By

*Guy Nesom*

Formerly BONAP, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

## Species Coordinator

### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Bc/o Plant Sciences Dept.,
Davis, California

Edited: 19jun02 jsp; 03jun03 ahv; 060816 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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