Foliage is composed of five leaflets, as are most of our modern roses. Blooms are multi-petalled and form either singly or in groups of threes or fours on comparatively long stems. Although most of the early roses are once-blooming, some of the hybrids and modern descendants are remontant. Modern rose garden groupings in Gallicanae are the Gallicas, Centifolias, Mosses, Damasks and Portlands. Caninae So named because their hooked prickles reportedly resembled the teeth of canines, these roses are native to Europe, northern Africa and western Asia.
Foliage tends to be medium in size and contains seven to nine leaflets.
Blooms are formed in small clusters and the subsequent hips are large and oval. Growth habit is varied from erect to arching, from 2 - 12 ft. Many of the Dog Roses found in the wild today are the remnants of dead hybrid roses which were grafted onto R. canina root stocks several decades ago. In some locations, they are considered a pest weed. Modern rose garden groups are the Sweetbriars, Dog Rose and Albas.