Family: Rosaceae, Rose view all from this family
Description A thorny shrub with pale pink flowers, the largest (often only) thorns in pairs near leaf stalks.
Flowers: 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) wide; petals 5, broad; sepals 5, slender, usually tapered from base to narrow middle, then expanded slightly near tip; stamens many.
Leaves: pinnately compound, with 5-9 ovate leaflets 1/2-3" (1.3-7.5 cm) long, sharply toothed on edges.
Fruit: berry-like, 1/2-3/4" (1.3-2 cm) long, round, smooth, reddish-purple.
Height: 2-13' (60-400 cm).
Flowering: May-July.
Habitat Woods and open places in the mountains.
Range Alaska to northern California, northeastern Oregon, northern Utah, and Colorado.
Discussion The hips, or fruit, of any wild roses may be eaten and are often used to make jams and jellies. Sweetbrier (R. eglanteria), the "Eglantine" of Shakespeare and Chaucer, has many down-curved prickles on the stem, and minute glands on the leaves and sepals, giving a pleasant rose aroma. Introduced in North America, it is fairly common west of the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.
