Twigs red-brown with many straight spines and bristles. Some of the collections in Oklahoma may be escapes from cultivation. A hardy native rose, but stems may die-back following a freeze.
Propagation is rather difficult.
Native Americans had several uses for wild prairie rose. Fruits were eaten raw or made into jellies, young spring shoots were cooked, young leaves and stems were prepared as tea. For many tribes, rose hips were an emergency food. The Pawnees collected leaf galls which were crushed and applied to burns.