The simple flowers of the wild rose have five red or pink petals and a yellow center. The hips that grow from them enclose five dry seed packets within a globe of orange-red flesh that contains sugar, a high concentration of vitamin C and other nutrients intended to attract browsing wild life that spread the seeds in their droppings. Hips are round when you look down at them. But many are oval when viewed from the side . They have a rosette of little dry leaves around their bottom blossom end and another at the stem end.
Hips are small, compared with apples, ranging from the size of a thumbnail to two inches across.
All contain abundant vitamin C, in proportion to their size. Hips of Rosa rugosa are one and a half inches across, flattened and with a moderately thick meaty shell and many seeds inside. Leaves and blossoms of the plants can be picked almost year-round and dried and steeped in hot water to make tea. Leaves, dry blossoms and naturally air-dried hips are fragrant and are often crushed and included in potpourris. The hips can be made into a pleasant, fragrant, mildly-citrusy jam or jelly.