https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/186895477
I was walking around my neighbors and my house when I found what looked like red berries on this plant, so I took pictures of it (My neighbor gave me permission to look for plants in their yard). I then started looking up the plant to see if I could Identify it, and I couldn't find anything. I looked at all the different kinds of berries it could be, but I found nothing. After that I remembered something, I'd seen this plant before, there were also flowers here before. Then it hit me: this plant was that prickly flower plant I saw during summertime. It turns out that the species was a Pricky Wild Rose, and the red things are actually rose hips. My experience with Prickly Wild Rose is I just thought it was a flower with pricks on it.
First, I want to talk about rose hips; they are actually an accessory fruit that is made after being pollinated (Rose Hip). "Rose hips are used in bread and pies, jam, jelly, marmalade, syrup, soup, tea, wine, and other beverages" (Rose Hip). They can also be eaten raw, like fruit, but avoid the hairs because that can be made into itching powder (Rose Hip).
The native Americans used Prickly Wild Rose to make tea and would make salads out of the leaves (Rosa Acicularis). The inner bark was used to smoke tobacco, and perfume can be made using this plant (Rosa Acicularis).
The biology of Prickly Wild Rose, or "Rosa acicularis" is a deciduous shrub that can grow one to three meters tall (Rosa Acicularis). The flowers are pink and rarely white, and the hips are red and pair-shaped or oval (Rosa Acicularis). "Its native habitats include thickets, stream banks, rocky bluffs, and wooded hillsides" (Rosa Acicularis). "It is commonly known as the prickly wild rose, prickly rose, bristly rose, wild rose or Arctic rose" (Rosa Acicularis).
This was a fun species to research this week, and I never knew that rose plants produced hips until I now.
Works Cited:
“Rosa Acicularis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 June 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_acicularis. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
“Rose Hip.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_hip. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
Comentarios
Hey, Hannah! My middle name is Rose so I feel like I had to comment on the observation post. This is an interesting-looking plant you found–I have always wondered how different wild roses look as opposed to the classic rose you can buy in most grocery stores and, in the future, I would like to see it during the summer when it’s wild blooms are at their peek beauty. I can see from the photos you provided that there is a lot of dead matter (leaves/pinecones/twigs) around your plant but it is neat it still has some small rose hips still hanging on. Also, I had no idea there were so many uses for rose hips and I bet most, if not all, of these recipes are super tasty. Thank you for sharing!
How fun to go on a neighborhood adventure, and stumble upon those seemingly incognito red entities, how wonderful! It's like a modest whisper from nature, enticing curiosity, and nudging you into a lovely little discovery about the Prickly Wild Rose and its charming secrets! The journey from the mystifying red "berries" to uncovering they are indeed rose hips sounds like a delightful plot twist! Isn’t it just enchanting how those prickly summer blossoms transform into such versatile, vibrant rose hips? It's like they shed their floral attire and donned these lush, red gems instead. Your newfound knowledge about their use in both culinary and traditional practices seems like an unexpected gift from a casual stroll. Now, every glance towards them will surely carry whispers of teas, jams, and perhaps tales of native practices from times gone by. Nature indeed has a splendid way of surprising and teaching us, doesn’t it? 🌹🍃🥧
Hannah;
I got excited when I read your observation because the rose is one of my favourite fruits. Interestingly, there are three kinds of "native to or naturalized [roses] in Alaska" ((Houck)). There is the one you brought up (rosa acicularis); they are more often found up north. The next one is the Nootka rose (rosa nutkana), these are found in coastal areas, and the final one with which I am the most familiar is the "Sitka rose (rosa rugosa), which was introduced to Southeast Alaska in the early 20th century." ((Houck)) It is originally from Japan. The Sitka Rose gets hips the size of a small crab apple, and I will peel the skin off to eat the flesh inside and ensure I don't eat the seeds on the inside.
When my son was 13 to 14 years old, he collected a bunch of hips, took the seeds out and ground them up. He then played pranks with his friends and would put a small amount of this ground-up dust down their backs, and they would need to go home and shower to get rid of this horrible itching powder. He ended up in detention for this prank, but those seeds honestly are something you don't want to mess with.
I collect hips for jam, jelly, and tea. It has an extremely high level of vitamin C, so I will drink it, especially in the winter, to help ward off colds.
I am so glad you found this lovely plant. It is genuinely a royalty among the plant species.
Gayleen
Houck, Amy O'Neill. "Wild about Roses." Edible Alaska, Edible Community, June 18 2018, ediblealaska.ediblecommunities.com/things-do/wild-about-roses. Accessed October 14, 2023
Hi Hannah – What an interesting find in your neighborhood. I have been canvasing my neighborhood, as well, as the snow has started to cover much of our plant life and ground. I’ve heard of rose hips, rose hip tea, rose hip ingredients in facial products, etc. but I’ve never put much thought into what they actually were. I assumed they were just the petals; I don’t know why. I was very interested to read about the hairs being made in to “itching powder,” I wonder what that is and why someone would want a powder causing it. Or maybe you mean to treat itch. Either way, it’s amazing to read about the diverse uses of this wild plant.
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