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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LATIN NAME: Rosa nutkana Presl. 1
OTHER LATIN NAMES 1
COMMON NAMES 1
PLANT DESCRIPTION 1
GENERAL 1
LEAVES 1
FLOWERS 1
FRUIT/SEEDS 1
HABITAT 2
RANGE 2
VARIETIES 2
SOME SIMULAR SPECIES 3
(1) Rosa pisocarpa A. Gary (Swamp rose, Clustered Rose): 3
(2) Rosa gymnocarpa Nutt. (Dwarf Wild Rose, Redwood Rose): 3
(3) Rosa acicularis Lindl. (Prickly Rose): 3
(4) Rosa woodsii Lindl. (Wood Rose): 3
CLASSIFICATION 4
CLASS: ANGIOSPERMAE 4
SUBCLASS: DICOTYLEDONEAE 4
SUPERORDER: ROSIDAE ) 4
ORDER: Rosales 4
FAMILY: Rosaceae (Rose) 4
SUB-FAMILY: Rosoideae 4
TRIBE 5
GENUS: Rosa 5
PLANT CHEMISTRY 5
CONSTITUENTS 5
TOXICITY 7
FOOD USES 7
NATIVE FOOD USES 7
EUROPEAN FOOD USES 8
LIQUEURS 10
OIL OF ROSE: 10
TEAS 10
RECIPES 11
MEDICINAL USES 17
NATIVE MEDICINAL USES 17
EUROPEAN MEDICINAL USES 19
RUSSIAN MEDICINAL USES 26
CHINESE MEDICINAL USES 26
INDIAN (AYURVEDIC) USES 27
HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINE 27
PREPARATION & DOSAGES 27
COLLECTING & DRYING 28
VETERINARY MEDICINE 28
MATERIAL USES 28
BURIAL PRACTICES 28
COSMETICS 28
CULTIVATION 29
DYEING 29
CORDAGE 29
IMPLEMENTS 29
SMOKING MIXTURE 30
HISTORY & BELIEFS 30
HISTORICAL RECORDS 30
SPIRITUAL BELIEFS 32
NOMENCLATURE 33
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LIFE-FORMS 33
STORIES 33
ILLUSTRATIONS 34
<<WARNING>> 34
BOOKS NOT CHECKED OFF 35
INDEX 36
LATIN NAME: Rosa nutkana Presl. (342-635, 287-224)
OTHER LATIN NAMES: R. spaldingii Crepin (35-151); Rosa aleutensis Crep. (342-635);
COMMON NAMES: Nootka Rose, Common Wild Rose (137-244), qeqaba'wilat (Chehalis),
tca'pama.c (Cowlitz), kalake'tc (Lummi), k!liqwai'abupt (Makah), k'eq'wai'put (Quileute),
sk!a'p!a (Skagit), yeyista (Skokomish), yesta'd (Snohomish), sk!a'p'ats (Swinomish),
(46-34); sgiit-gang-xaal (Red-blossoms, Haida [S], 148-58), skwukwpik-lhp (Bella Coola,
General, 148-63); k'ung (flowers, Haida [S]), k'unlhe (Flowers, Haida [M]), skwupik
(flowers, Bella Coola, 148-50), kelk (General species, Lillooet, 148-49); gale'e (Gitksan,
133-74); Whus (Carrier, 280-86); Shatapatri (Sanskrit), Yeu ji hua (Chinese, 396-141);
PLANT DESCRIPTION
GENERAL: Has one or two large, flattened thorns at each node, but no small thin spines
(137-245); Shrub wth stout, erect branches, prickly throughout or sometimes not, but
usually with a pair of large, stout prickles at the nodes. (385-178); Shrub to 2.5 m.
Stem sometimes slender but more often stout, erect, usually armed with a large pair of
straight, or somewhat curved, flattened, infrastipular thorns; floral branches glabrous
or nearly so. (35-149);
LEAVES: Leaflets 5-9, usually 7, elliptic or ovate, sawtoothed or doubly saw-toothed,
with glandular teeth, 1-7 cm long. (385-178); Leaves usually 5-7 foliolate; leaflets
broadly ovate, rounded at both ends or somewhat acute at the apex, doubly serrate with
glandular teeth or singly serrate without glandular teeth, dark green and glabrous above,
paler and more or less glandular-puberulent beneath; stipules usually glandular-dentate;
petioles and rachises more or less glandular-puberulent or short pubescent, rachis often
with a few prickles and stipitate glands. (35-149);
FLOWERS: Flowers large, 4-6 cm across, usually solitary. Floral cup usually hairless,
5-0 mm in flower, 15-18 mm broad in fruit. Petals 5, light pink to deep rose, whiter at
the base, broadly heart shaped, 2.5-4 cm long, reflexed, notched at the tip. Flowering:
May-July.(385-178); Flowers usually solitary, sometimes 2 or 3; pedicels glabrous or
glandular-hispid. Hypanthium glabrous or covered with gland-tipped bristles. Sepals
lanceolate, up to 3.5 cm long, often with foliaceous appendages, glabrous or rarely
glandular on the back. Petals pink to rose, broadly obcordate, slightly longer than the
sepals. (35-151) Flowers of the rose order are almost always bisexual; that is, with
stamens (male reproductive structures) and pistil (the female reproductive structure) in
each flower. (EB Vol 15-1152)
FRUIT/SEEDS: Hips purplish, spherical to pear shaped, 1-2 cm long with persistent sepals.
Achenes numerous, 4-6(8) mm long. Fruiting: June-September. (385-178); Hips
purplish-red, globose, up to 18 mm broad.; The fruits, or "hips" as they are called, vary
in size and shape, but all are orange to red when ripe and consist of a fleshy outer rind
encasing a tightly-packed mass of light-coloured seeds covered with numerous sliver-like
bristles. In most cases the long pointed sepals around the base of the flower persist
on the upper ends of the fruits. (89-85)
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 270. "The rose
species are difficult for botanist to classify, and certainly the fruits are very
variable. Sometimes they will be large, up to 1 inch or more wide, with a relatively
thick pulpy layer; sometimes they are small and less fleshy; often both kinds are present
in different areas on what the botanist call plants of the same species. The bony,
seedlike structures in the center are more or less hairy and these hairs are rather a
nuisance. We have found a good deal of variation in the flavor of rose hips collected
at different places and at different elevations." (376-270)
HABITAT: Common along roadsides, in thickets, and open woods (137-245); Damp flats and
slopes. Mostly in wooded regions. (385-178); Thickets and swampy places. (35-151);
RANGE: Widespread along the Coast and throughout the Interior, south of 56 Degree
Latitude (137-245); From Alaska to Mendocino County, California, northern Rocky Mountains;
below 500 m elevation. (385-178); Southern B.C. to northern California west of Coast
Mountains; Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser Valley from Yale (35-151); Found
scattered from Sitka to Juneau north to the Alaska Gulf coast, west to Alaska Peninsula
and the Aleutians as far west as Unalaska. (285-44)
VARIETIES:
KEY TO VARIETIES
- Rosa nutkana var. nutkana: R. durandii, R. muriculata,R. nutkana var. muriculata,
R. nutkana var. setosa (287-224); Leaflets doubly serrate, the teeth glandular; infrastip
prickles becoming much enlarged and much flattened toward
base; leaflets glandular beneath; Leave rachis stiitate-glandular; Mostly West Cascades.
(287-224)
- Rosa nutkana var. hispida Fern: R. anatonensis, R. caeruleomontana, R. columbiana,
R. jonesii, R. macdougalii, R. megalantha, R. nutkana var. pallida, R. spaldingii, R.
spaldingii var. parkeri, R. spaldingii var. chelanensis, R. spaldingii var. hispida, R.
rainierensis (287-224); Leaflets singly (seldom doubly) serrate, teeth generally not
gland-tipped; prickles rarely enlarged and flattened; leaflets and rachis glandular or
not, otherwise glab or puberulent; chiefly East Cascades (287-224). Common Names: Bristly
Nootka Rose (287-224).
- Two related species in Asia: R. amblyotis C.A. Mey, and R. davurica Pall. (342-635)
- QUESTIONABLE: Rosa nutkana Crepin (137-244, 385-178, 35-149)
SOME SIMULAR SPECIES
NOTE: All are erect shrubs with spiny or thorny stems and pinnately, compound leaves,
with usually 5-7 toothed leaflets, similar to those of garden roses, but smaller. The
flowers are pale to bright pink, 5-petalled, with yellow centres and numerous stamens.
The fruits or 'hips' are bright red-orange, consisting of a fleshy rind enclosing many
whitish seeds. Hard at first, the rind softens after the first frost. (137-244)
(1) Rosa pisocarpa A. Gary (Swamp rose, Clustered Rose): Other Latin Names: R.
anacantha (287-223); Common Names: Clustered Wild Rose, Peafruit Rose, Xwale'lamtsani
(Chehalis), sk!a'pads (Snohomish) (46-34); Has smaller, straight spines and smaller
flowers, usually in clusters of 3 to 6. Grows in open, swampy meadows, also forming
thickets. Grows only in the southwestern corner, on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands,
and the Lower Mainland (44-206);
(2) Rosa gymnocarpa Nutt. (Dwarf Wild Rose, Redwood Rose): Other Latin Names: R.
apiculata, R. dasypoda, R. helleri (287-223); Common Names: Little Wild Rose (287-223),
Upsaynt (Chehalis, 46-34); skwukwpik-lhp (Bella Coola, 148-63); has small flowers, small
fruits without persisting sepals, and usually densely bristled stems. Grows in shaded
woods. Found on both sides of the Cascade Mountains from about 52 degrees N latitude
southward. (137-244); Slender, loose shrub, usually prickly throughout, the prickles all
similar to each other. Leaflets 5-9, usually 7, elliptic to almost round, doubly
sawtoothed with gland-tipped teeth. Flowers 2-3 cm across, mostly solitary, scattered
at the tips of the branches. Petals 5, dark rose, light rose on the back side, sometimes
2-lobed at the tip, concave. Flowers lose petals easily. Mature hips ovoid to pear
shaped, orange red, 5-10 mm X 4-6 mm. Sepals deciduous in fruit. Flowering: May-August.
Fruiting: January-December. In moist or dry shady woods, sometimes in open places. From
Southern British Columbia, Montana, and western Idaho in and west of the Cascades to the
Sierra Nevada of California; below 2000 m elevation. (385-178)
(3) Rosa acicularis Lindl. (Prickly Rose): Other Latin Names: R. butleri (287-223);
Has elongated fruits and numerous small spines on the stems and twigs. Found in open
woods and hillsides. Occurs throughout the Interior of the Province. (137-245); Stems to
1 meter usually covered with straight slender prickles. Leaflets 3-7 with coarse teeth.
The flowers usually single with pink petals 2-3 cm long. The hips are smooth with erect
smooth leaflets around the top. Range: N.B.., Que., northernmost Ont. to Alaska and the
Yukon, s. to Ida., n. N.M., S.Dak., Minn., and Vt. and in Siberia, in woods, rocky banks.
(369-170)
(4) Rosa woodsii Lindl. (Wood Rose): has smaller, straight thorns, smaller clustered
flowers, and relatively small, round fruits. Found in open woods and prairies to moist
meadows and creeksides. (137-245); Common throughout the dry parts of the Interior south
of 56 degrees N latitude and in the Peace River District. (137-245)
Two varieties found in B.C.:
Rosa woodsii Lindl., var. woodsii [R. fimbriatula, R. macounii, R. sandbergii, R.
w.f. hispida (287-223)]
Rosa woodsii Lindl., var. ultramontana [R. grosseserrata, R. lapwaiensis, R.
pyrifera, R. ultramontana, R. californica var. ultramontana (287-224)
CLASSIFICATION
CLASS: ANGIOSPERMAE (118-10)
SUBCLASS: DICOTYLEDONEAE (118-10)
SUPERORDER: ROSIDAE )(118-10
ORDER: Rosales (118-14)
- 1982 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 15, 1150. "3 families, 3,200 species."
- Families: Rosaceae, Neuradaceae, Chrysobalanaceae (EB Vol 15-1154).
FAMILY: Rosaceae (Rose) (118-14)
- 1973 T.M.C. Taylor, The Rose Family of B.C., 5. "The rose family (Rosaceae) is a
large one of over 1,000 genera and about 3,000 species. Its members are distributed
pretty much over all the earth, from frigid regions to the tropics. They are especially
numerous in eastern Asia, North America, and Europe; in British Columbia and the Pacific
Coast States nearly 40 genera occur, two-thirds of them in British Columbia" (35-5)
- 1982 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 15, 1153. "About 100 genera and 3,000 species,
almost cosmopolitan, mostly in temperate zones, especially richly developed in the
Northern Hemisphere."
SUB-FAMILY: Rosoideae
- 1973 T.M.C. Taylor, The Rose Family of B.C., 5. "The family is frequently divided
into half a dozen subfamilies, most of which have been treated as families at some time
in the past. Most botanist are now agreed, however, that this practice is not warranted
and that despite the apparent diversity the Rosaceae is a more natural grouping than that
found in some of the other large families." (35-5)
- 1982 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 15, 1151. "Includes the highly variable
raspberry genus (Rubus), has at least three basic chromosome numbers, 7, 8, or 9."
- 1982 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 15, 1153. "About 34 genera and 2,000 species,
in most temperate to subarctic areas of the world."
TRIBE:
GENUS: Rosa (35-144)
- 1973 T.M.C. Taylor, The Rose Family of B.C., 5. Some five (5) species of Roses in
B.C. are listed by the author. (35-144)
- 1973 T.M.C. Taylor, The Rose Family of B.C., 5. "A genus of at least 100 species of
North Temperate and subtropical regions." (35-144)
- 1982 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 15, 1150. "About 150 species worldwide." (EB
Vol 15, 1150)
- 1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 108. "About 14 species of wild
rose grow in Canada; three of these grow in the NWT south of the tree-line." (305-108)
PLANT CHEMISTRY
CONSTITUENTS:
- 1830 Rafinesque 258. "Roots, galls, buds, and fruits all astringent, sweetish,
corroborant, used in dysentery and diarrhea; contains tannin, sugar, myricine, resin, fat
oil, volatile oil, acids, salts. Blossoms of red roses similar, styptic, have gallic
acid, fine conserves; while pale or white roses...are laxative, a fine syrup for children.
Rose water fine perfume, useful for sore eyes." (369-171)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 688. "The important constituent of Red ROSE PETALS
is the red colouring matter of an acid nature. There have also been isolated two yellow
crystalline substances, the glucoside 'Quercitrin', which has been found in many other
plants and 'Quercetin', yielded when Quercitrin is boiled with a dilute mineral acid.
The astringency is due to a little gallic acid, but it has not yet been definitely proved
whether quercitannic acid, the tannin of oak bark, is also a constituent. The odour is
due to a very small amount of volatile oil, not identical with the official Ol. Rosae.
A considerable amount of sugar, gum, fat, etc., are also present." (141-688)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 686. "The composition of ROSE OIL is not quite
uniform, the variation being due to a number of influences, the chief being the kind of
flower and the locality in which it has been grown. The Rose oil from plants grown in
colder climates contains a very high percentage of the waxy substance stearoptene,
odourless and valueless as a perfume. This was the first constituent of Rose oil to be
studied and was recognized as paraffin hydrocarbon by Fluckiger; it consists of a mixture
of hydrocarbons. Sometimes this stearoptene is removed by large distillers and the
resulting oil sold at a higher price as stearoptene-free Otto of Roses. Geraniol and
Citronellol are the chief ingredients of Rose oil as regards percentage, though not the
most characteristic as regards odour. Citronellol, a fragrant, oily liquid, forms about
35 percent of the oil. Geraniol, which may be present to the amount of 75 percent., is
a colourless liquid, with a sweet, rose-like odour." (141-686)
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 270. "Rose
fruits are listed as high in vitamins A and C, particularly the latter, and are noted for
their antiscorbutic effects. In World Var II they were collected in quantity in Europe,
particularly in England and the Scandinavian countries. Hill (122) mentioned that in 1943
about five hundred tons of rose hips were collected in Great Britain and made into a syrup
called National Rose Hip Syrup. We have recently purchased rose-hip powder in a local
grocery store. It had been processed and packaged in Sweden and exported to this country
to be used for flavoring and for soups, according to the label. Pills made from the fruits
have been offered for sale as a source of vitamin C." (376-270)
- 1967 T.E. Wallis, Textbood of Pharmacognosy. 5th ed., "The hips, rich in vitamin C,
running from 75 to 1303 mg of Vitamin C for each 100 grams of hips depending on variety
and habitat." (369-172)
- 1978 Turner & Szczawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 87. "Three rose
hips are said to contain as much of this essential vitamin as one whole orange. Rose hips
are also high in vitamin A, and are richer than oranges in calcium, phosphorus, and iron."
(89-86)
- 1979 Turner & Szczawinski, Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada, 169. "It was
found that 100 g of Alberta rose hips contained almost 1640 mg of vitamin C, about 30
times the amount contained in the same amount of pure oragne juice." (114-169)
- 1980 David G. Spoerke, Herbal Medications, 150. "Most rose hips are high in vitamins
A and C. The leaves contain tannins as well. Some members of this family have cyanogenic
glycosides in the leaves. The petals have astringents, quercitrin, volatile oils, and
colors comprised of anthocyanins and cyanins (10%). Modes of Actin: Most of rose's
pharmacologic actions are due to its astringent and antiscorbutic properties." (135-150)
- 1982 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 15, 1150. "The petals of certain rose species
are strongly odorous by virtue of a volatile oil they produce. This property gives rose
petals value as flavouring for cough syrups and candies. Dried rose petals are often kept
in potpourri jars or among clothing items, where their fragrance is slowly released.
Fresh rose petals impressed in the surface of butter contained in a tightly covered
container overnight in a cool place impart a delicate rose odour and taste to the butter.
This, spread on small thin shapes of bread and garnished with a fresh rose petal, makes
rose-petal sandwiches, often served with tea."
- 1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 109. "Rose hips are one of the
best natural sources of vitamin c, containing 10 to 100 times more vitamin C than any
other food and containing this well even when stored. They also contain calcium, iron,
vitamin A and phosphorus." (305-109)
- 1984 Leonard Mervyn, The Dictionary of Vitamins, 158. "Rose-hip syrup: In undiluted
form is a very rich source of vitamin C. Traces of vitamin E present. Traces only of
thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, folic acid and biotin.
Vitamin C content is 295 mg per 100 ml." (382-158)
- 1985 Medical Services, Native Foods And Nutrition, 93. "100 grams of raw rosehips
contain between 165-615 mg of Vitamin C." (333-93)
TOXICITY:
- 1980 David G. Spoerke, Herbal Medications, 150. "Roses are almost always nontoxic.
Large amounts may give diarrhea. The cyanogenic glycosides would only rarely present a
problem." (135-150)
- 1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 109. "Northern children call rose
hips "itchy-bums," which an overdose of the seeds with their tiny, sliver-like hairs will
cause!" (305-109)
- 1985 Medical Services, Native Foods And Nutrition, 71. "The hairs from seeds
irritate the digestive tract." (333-71)
FOOD USES
NATIVE FOOD USES:
- 1945 Erna Gunther, Ethnobotany of Western Washington, 34. "R. pisocarpa: The Squaxin
eat the hips fresh." (46-34)
- 1945 Erna Gunther, Ethnobotany of Western Washington, 34. "The Makah eat the rose
hips, as do the Klallam, who are more appreciative of them for giving a sweet breath than
for food value. The Cowlitz, however, state that only birds eat the hips. The Skagit
are fond of combining rose hips with dried salmon eggs. The Swinomish, Snohomish, and
Quinault all eat the hips. The Lummi dry them before eating. The Lummi peel the twigs
and boil them as a tea for a beverage. The Skagit make a similar tea of the leaves. The
Skokomish eat the rose hips in the fall." (46-34)
- 1946 John J. Honigmann, Ethnography & Acculturation of the Fort Nelson Slave, Yale
University Publication in Anthropology 33. New Haven. 83. "Fort Nelson Slave made
a tea from the petals." (305-109)
- 1975 Nancy J. Turner, Food Plants of British Columbia Indians, Part I, 206. "The
use of wild rose hips as food varies considerably from group to group in the Northwest
Coast area. Among the western Washington Salish most groups ate R. nutkana fruits; only
one, the Squaxin, utilized R. pisocarpa fruits, and none used the hips of R. gymnocarpa.
The Vancouver Island Salish apparently ate all three types, picking them in autumn and
eating the red-orange outer rind raw. They also peeled and ate the tender young shoots
of R. nutkana in spring. The Stalo, Squamish, Sechelt, Nootka, and kwakiutl did not eat
them. In fact, one Kwakiutl lady, when asked if they were eaten, laughed and said, "Oh
no! It would give you an itchy bottom! The Comox also attributed this effect to the
seeds, but ate the outer rind once the seeds were removed. The Bella Coola ate both R.
nutkana and R. gymnocarpa fruit rinds in the late fall, and the Haida and Tsimshian ate
those of R. nutkana, the only species extending that far north. Haida women peeled and
ate the young shoots as a tonic and beauty aid, but apparently not as a regular food."
(44-206)
- 1978 Nancy J. Turner, Food Plants of British Columbia Indians, Part II, 197. "Rose
hips are well known for their high Vitamin C content. The fruits of all these species
were eaten by various Interior Indian groups, although usually on a casual basis or in
times of scarcity of other kinds of foods. In general, the fruit of R. acicularis and
R. nutkana, being larger, were eaten more than those of R. gymnocarpa and R. woodsii.
Only the outside rind was eaten; the prickly seeds were discarded. The fruits ripen in
late summer but remain on the bushes over the winter, so can be gathered at any time.
They are said to taste better toward spring. Today some Indian people make rose-hip tea,
jam, and jelly,
but these uses are modern in origin. Coyotes and other wild animals are said to be fond
of rose hips." (103-197)
- 1978 Nancy J. Turner, Food Plants of British Columbia Indians, Part II, 197. "The
Slave made a tea from wild rose petals, and the Shuswap, Thompson, and Okanagan made tea
from the leaves, branches, and inner bark of various rose species." (103-197)
- 1980 People of 'Ksan, Gathering What the Great Nature Provided, 74. "Rose hips were
known to be edible, for we have records of "jams" being made by mixing rose hips with
other berries, but today we do not eat them. Botanists have told us that the berrylike
seeds of the wild rose (gale'e) are full of viamin C. A satirical song mocks someone who
overate rose hips and suffered an itching anus." (133-74)
- 1980 David G. Spoerke, Herbal Medications, 150. "Indians have used the leaves as a
potherb, eaten the fruits as a nutrient, made leaves and petals into tea or salads, or
candied them. The roots have been used in teas or smoked like tobacco." (135-150)
EUROPEAN FOOD USES:
- 1967 T.E. Wallis, Textbood of Pharmacognosy. 5th ed., "They (the hips) should be
simmered with just enough water to cover, mashed and put through a jelly bag to remove
the skins and trichomes (hairs) inside. These hairs are very irritating to the bowel and
must be carefully removed in making a conserve or syrup. When making the tea of rose hips,
soak over night and simmer next day, do not boil or simmer for long. Drink the liquid.
It contains sugar from the hips." (369-173
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 270. "Makino,
in his 'Illustrated Flora of Japan', mentioned that Rosa rugosa hips are rather fleshy
and are used as food in Japan, particularly by children." (376-270)
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 272. "Even the
green fruits, when peeled and cooked, have been utilized as food. The young shoots in
the spring are said to make an acceptable potherb. The leaves have been used to make a
tea. The rose petals can be eaten raw, in salids, candied, used in making syrup, or dried
and made into a beverage like tea. The rose roots were used likewise by certain of the
Indians for tea making, and the inner bark was sometimes smoked like tobacco. The petals
are often dried and placed in jars to be used as a perfume or have actually been used to
give an odor and flavor to butter." (376-273)
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 271. "The fruits
should be taken when ripe, some say after frost. We have found that a bright red color
does not necessarily indicate that the fruit is really ripe. If the fruits are of any
size at all, they can be split longitudinally and the inner seedlike structures removed.
This gets rid of the hairs that are attached to them. The blossom end is usually removed
and the pulp can be eaten raw or stewed, or can be used to make wine, jam or jelly."
(376-272)
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 272. "The rose
hips can be dried and kept for long periods. These dried fruits can be groupnd into a
powder, even leaving the seed-like structures in if the fruits are small. This powder
can be used to flavor various kinds of other foods and drinks. We added it to pancakes,
concluding that it blended in well but did not add much to the flavor. (376-272)
- 1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 273. "Rose hips
dry on the twigs and can be used for at least the early part of the winter. They may
protrude above the snow and furnish the only readily available nourishment for hungry
wayfarers." (376-273)
- 1982 Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 97. "It only takes a few
rose hips to give you all the Vitamin C value found in one orange. An the farther north
they grow, the more Vitamin C the hips have." (247-97)
- 1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 108. "The hips can be used
year-round, even when and after they have been frozen on the bushes. In the spring, the
young, green shoots can be used as a potherb, or can be peeled and eaten raw. The petals,
separated from their uncoloured and unpalatable base, can be candied, used in a tea
(although a large quantity is needed), added to a salad or fruit punch for garnish, added
to a pot-pourri, or used in sandwiches. The hips can be frozen, dried or used fresh.
They are usable year round and thus provide an important emergency food source. Best
picked after the first frost, the hips make an excellent jelly, syrup or soup, and a
sweet, delicious tea which has been packaged commercially for years...To use the hips,
it's best to cut them open and scrape out the seeds. The seeds themselves are rich in
vitamin E and can be ground, after the hairs are removed by washing or rubbing, for use
in cooking or as a vitamin." (305-109)
- 1986 Patrick Lima, The Harrowsmith Illustrated Book of Herbs, 100. "Pick rose hips
when they are plump and red but not softly over-ripe; trim the stem and blossom end, cut
the hips in half, scoop out the seeds and fibres with a small spoon, and dry the halves
on a screen in an airy, shaded place indoors. Dried rose hips are as hard as coffee beans;
to make tea, pulverize a handful in a blender, grinder or mill, and steep for at least
10 minutes with other herbs, dry or fresh, for more flavour." (352-100)
SEEDS:
- 1979 Turner & Szczawinski, Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada, 169. "It should
be noted that the seeds do contain high concentrations of vitamin E, and, once the hairs
are removed by rubbing or washing, the seeds can be ground and used in baking or cooking
as a vitamin supplement." (114-166)
LIQUEURS:
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 688. "Two liqueurs made by the French also have rose
petals as one of the chief ingredients. A small quantity of spirits of wine is distilled
with the petals to produce 'Spirit of Roses.' The fragrant spirit, when mixed with sugar,
undergoes certain preparatory processes and makes the liqueur called 'L'Huile de Rose'.
It is likewise the base of another liqueur, called 'Parfait Amour.' (141-688)
- 1979 Turner & Szczawinski, Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada, 169. "Rose-petal
wine was made in England as early as 1606, and lozenges of red rose flowers were made in
1656." (114-169)
OIL OF ROSE:
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 690. "OIL OF ROSE is light yellow in colour,
sometimes possessing a green tint. It has a strong odour of fresh roses. When cooled,
it congeals to a translucent soft mass, which is again liquefied by the warmth of the
hand. The congealing point lies between 15~ and 22~ C., mostly between 17~ and 21~."
(141-686)
TEAS:
- 1978 Turner & Szczawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 87. "ROSE-PETAL
TEA: The fragrant petals of the wild rose can also be made into tea. About 250 ml (1
cup) of fresh or dried petals are needed for every 500 ml of prepared tea, but the fine
delicate flavour of this tea makes all your trouble in gathering the petals worthwhile.
Although young rose leaves and sprouts can be included as an ingredient in herb teas, they
do not seem to yield enough flavour to be used on their own." (98-87)
- 1978 Turner & Szczawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 87. "The dried
hips, with or without the seeds, can be powdered or grated into small pieces and stored
in a sealed container. To brew the tea, simply place about 15 ml (1 tbsp) of rose-hip
powder (or about a dozen whole dried hips) per 250 ml (1 cup) into a teapot, pour over
the desired amount of boiling water, and allow the tea to steep about 5 minutes. Rose-hip
tea is a clear pink colour and decidedly fruity in flavour. A small quantity of honey
and a few drops of lemon enhance the flavour for some." (98-87)
- 1979 Barrie Kavasc, Native Harvests, 136. "A large family of native and introduced
varieties, the rose hips are prized for teas. The hips are very high in vitamin C, and
the whitish seeds are high in vitamin E (grind to extract). For rose hip tea, steep 2
teaspoons crushed whole rose hips (either fresh or dried) in 1 quart of boiling water in
a covered pot for 10 minutes." (157-136)
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 55. "The high content of vitamin C
in rosehips helps to prevent colds and influenza. Rosehips are diuretic, good for the
kidneys and helpful in a slimming prgramme. Rosehip tea can be taken everyday as a
pleasant way to take extra vitamins. To make the tea: Soak 2 tablespoons of dried crushed
rosehips in sufficient water to cover them in an enamel pan. Leave for about 8 hours or
overnight. Pour 4 cups of boiling water on to the rosehips and simmer gently for 30
minutes. Strain the rosehips into a covered pot and store in the refrigerator. It will
keep for 2 days and can be reheated, but not boiled, and sweetened with honey." (416-55)
RECIPES:
1. ROSE HIP PUREE: (376-176, 114-167)
Grind 4 cups of rose hips. Add 2.5 cups of water and boil 20 minutes in a covered,
enameled saucepan. Then rub through a sieve. This can be bottled in small glass
containers and heated for 20 minutes in boiling water. Angier suggested using it to
flavor soups or mixed with tapioca pudding. We have used the puree with stewed meats,
with vegetables such as Zuchini squash, green beans, and in soups, adding it just before
serving so as not to cook out the vitamins.
(1967 H.D. Harrington, Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains, 176)
2. ROSE PETAL HONEY: (305-176)
500 mL (2 cups) of honey
250 mL (1 cup) wild rose petals, cleaned
Bring the honey to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the rose petals. Remove from
the heat, let stand for several hours, then reheat and strain into honey pots. (305-176)
(1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 176.)
3. ROSE PETAL VINEGAR: (305-177)
Collect enough fresh, clean wild rose petals to fill a glass jar, then pour white
vinegar over them and cover. "Sun-steep" the mixture by letting it stand in the sunlight
for at least two days. Strain out the petals. This fragrant, pink vinegar is good in
dressings for both fruit and green salids. Replenish it as you need to by adding new
petals and more vinegar. (305-177)
(1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 177.)
4. APPLE AND ROSE PETAL PIE: (305-176)
Use any pie crust recipe, enough for the top only.
1 L (4 cups) cooking apples
250 mL (1 cup) water
190 mL (3/4 cup) sugar
4 cloves
Rind of half a lemon, washed and grated
A handful of fresh wild rose petals, washed and dried, with
the white 'cuticles' scissored out.
Roll the pie dough to .6 cm (1/4 in) thick and set aside. Preheat the oven to 215
Degree C (425 Degree F). Peel and core the apples; boil the peelings and cores in 250
mL (1 cup) water: Stew for 1/2 hour, then strain and set the juice aside to cool.
Cut the apples into thick slices or chunks. (Thin slices will let the juice boil out
before the apples are cooked, and the result will be tough and tasteless.) Mound them
in a pie dish. Add the sugar, rind and cloves, and pour on the cooked juice. Lay the
rose petals on top. Wet the edges of the pie dish. Cover the pie with the pastry (or
it will pull away from the pie dish in cooking.) Trim the edges with a knife. Bake at
215~C for 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 180~C (350~F) and bake for 30 minutes
longer or until top is nicely browned. (305-176)
(1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 176.)
5. ROSE HIP SYRUP: (305-197, 114-167,416-55)
This syrup keeps almost indefinitely in the fridge. Use it to flavour soda water
for a rose hip spritzer, or add it to a fruit punch or applesauce.
1.5 L (6 cups) rose hips, cleaned (free of dust, stems and tufts)
750 mL (3 cups) water
750 mL (3 cups) sugar
In a covered, heavy pot, boil the hips and water for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain
through a jelly bag or a piece of clean cloth to remove seeds and sediment. Return this
juice to the cleaned pot. Add the sugar and boil for about 5 minutes, until thickened.
Pour the cooked syrup into a bottle (it doesn't need to be sterilized and sealed)
and store in the refrigerator. (305-197, 247-156)
(1984 Marilyn Walker, Harvesting the Northern Wild, 197.)
6. ROSE HIP BUTTER: (247-166)
Rose hips Cinnamon stick
Sugar 5 or 6 whole cloves
Pick rose hips after the first frost while they are still red but ripe. Prepare the
butter the same day the hips are picked, if possible. Simmer hips until softened. Remove
seeds and skins by pressing through a sieve. By volume, add half as much sugar as you
have pulp. Put the pulp in a saucepan and add the cinnamon stick and whole cloves. Heat
slowly, covered, until all the sugar is dissolved. Then uncover and cook slowly until
the butter is thick, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Pack in hot, sterilized
canning jars and seal with lids at once. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 166)
7. ROSE HIP JELLY: (247-163, 325-237, 114-168)
2 Cups of cleaned and seeded rose hips 2 cups of water
4 tablespoons lemon juice Sugar
Place rose hips in a pan with the water. Boil until the hips are soft. Put through
a coarse sieve and drain through a jelly bag. Measure the juice into saucepan and add
the lemon juice. Add 3/4 as much sugar as you have juice. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes
and test for the jelly stage. If the test is negative, continue cooking the juice until
it jells. Pour into hot, sterilized jelly glasses and seal at once with paraffin and
lids.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 163)
8. CANDIED ROSE HIPS: (247-153, 325-249)
1.5 Cups ripe rose hips 1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup sugar Additional sugar
Remove seeds from rose hips with the sharp tip of a knife. Mix the 1/2 cup of sugar
with water and boil briefly to make a syrup. Add rose hips and boil gently 10 to 12
minutes or until the fruit is soft. Lift hips from the syrup with a skimmer and set to
drain on waxed paper. While hips are still moist, dust them with sugar. If possible,
dry the hips slowly in the sun; if not possible, dry them in an oven set at its lowest
temperature, being sure to leave the oven door ajar so moisture can escape. Add more
sugar if the candy is sticky. Store the candied hips in an airtight metal container with
waxed paper between the layers. Candied Rose Hips can be used with, or in place of, nuts
and raisins in cookies and in puddings with grated lemon rind and upside down cakes, or
as snacks.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 153)
9. ROSE HIP CATSUP: (247-87)
1 quart rose hips 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Cold Water 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cider vinegar Dash of cayenne pepper
2 cups of sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon of onion powder 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Clean rose hips and place in saucepan. Barely cover with cold water, then bring to
a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until soft. Put through a sieve to eliminate all seeds.
Add the remaining ingredients and return to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until
thick, stirring now and then. Pour into sterilized bottles or canning jars and seal at
once. Process for 5 to 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Use like tomato catsup.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 153)
10. ROSE HIP PIE: (247-97)
Pastry for double-crust, 9-inch pie 1 cup sugar
1.5 cups rose hips (Best if not quite ripe) 2 beaten eggs
1/4 pound melted butter Dash of salt
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla
Prepare pastry and line a pie pan with bottom crust. Clean and seed rose hips. Mix
cornstarch and sugar and blen in melted butter. Add the eggs, corn syrup, salt and
vanilla; mix. Stir in the rose hips. Pour into the pie shell and cover with a lattice
crust. Bake at 350~ until pastry is nicely browned. Hint: A little lemon juice keeps
this from being too blah. Rose hips are quite bland.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 97)
11. WILD ROSE PETAL CUP CAKES: (247-120)
1 cup of sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon of salt
(or vegetable shortening) 3 eggs
Grated peel of 1 lemon 1 cup of milk
3 cups of cake flour 1 cup of cut, fresh wild rose petals
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Cream together the sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat well. Add the lemon peel.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; sift and add to the first mixture, alternating
with the milk. Add the rose petals. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Line muffin pans
with pink paper baking cups and fill each half-full of batter. Bake at 375~ for 12 to
15 minutes.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 120)
12. ROSE HIP JUICE: (247-142)
Rose hips Water
If possible, gather your rose hips before the first frost. Clean and remove the
tails. Place the hips in a kettle with enough water to completely cover the fruit. Bring
to a boil slowly, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the fruit is soft.
Strain the hips through a wet jelly bag overnight. Pour the extracted juice into a
container you can cover, then store it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for several
weeks - ideal for having on hand throughout the preserving season.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 142)
13. WILD ROSE HIP WINE: (247-149, 86-51)
4 pounds rose hips 1 ounce yeast
3/4 gallon water 1.5 pounds of sugar
(1st day's use) (7th day's use)
1.5 pounds of sugar 1/4 gallon water
(1st day's use) (7th day's use)
Rose hips should be ripe, red, clean and seeded. Crush or chop the hips. Place hips
in a large crock and pour in 1/2 gallon boiling water. Boil 1.5 pounds sugar in 1 quart
water for 2 minutes; allow to cool slightly. Add to the rose hip mixture. Sprinkle in
the yeast. Ferment for 7 days. Strain through a jelly cloth to remove solids. Siphon
the liquid into a gallon jar. Boil 1.5 pounds sugar in 1 quart water; allow to cool
thoroughly, then add to the fermented liquid. Cover and allow fermentation to continue
until finished (when the bubbling stops). Bottle and seal.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 149)
14. ROSE HIP POWDER: (247-183)
Rose hip powder may be made by crushing dried puree with a rolling pin until it is
fine enough to suit you. This may be stored in small jars in a cool, dry place. It is
good to sprinkle over cereal and to include in hot cakes and other dishes to give Vitamin
C as needed. The dry rose hips lose some of their vitamin content, still they retain a
lot, and, though adding little flavor to anything, they are useful for their vitamin
content.
(Alaska Magazine, Alaska Wild Berry Guide & Cookbook, 183)
15. CHILLED ROSE-HIP SOUP: (325-128)
4 cups of ripe rose hips (bruised with a rolling pin)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
Water
Garnish: 1/2 cup of heavy cream, whipped at serving time. This sweet soup is high
in vitamin C, and it makes a delicious cool opening for a summer meal.
(1) Cover rose hips with water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and boil for 10
minutes.
(2) Strain through cheesecloth, discard hips, and return liquid to heat. Add enough
water to make 4 cups.
(3) Add sugar, bring to boil, and set pan off heat.
(4) Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and stir into the soup. Return pan to
medium heat and cook until soup is clear and lightly thickened.
(5) Cool soup, then chill. Serve with a dab of whipped cream on each portion.
(Serves 4)
(1976 Billy Joe Tatum, Wild Foods Field Guide and Cookbook, 128.)
16. ROSE-PETAL JAM: (98-87)
2 Cups of Sugar 1/2 cup of water
2 cups of rose petals 1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp orange juice
Dissolve the sugar in the water and add the rose petals, lemon juice, and orange
juice. Place this mixture in a pan over low heat and stir constantly for half an hour
until the petals have dissolved. Cool, pour into a clean glass jar, and store in the
refrigerator. This preserve is particularly nice for jelly doughnuts. It is popular in
Europe and in the Middle East, especially with yoghurt.
(1978 Turner & Szczawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 87.)
17. ROSE-HIP & PRUNE-JUICE SHERBET: (114-168)
1 cup of sugar 1 cup of water
1/2 cup of prune juice 1/2 cup of light corn syrup
1/2 cup of rose-hip syrup 1/4 tsp of salt
1 egg white
Combine sugar and water and boil 5 minutes. Add the juice, syrups, and salt. Freeze
in an ice-cube tray until almost firm. Whip egg white until stiff and fold into the
frozen mixture. Return to the ice-tray and refreeze. Keep frozen until served. (From
Eleanor A. Ellis, Northern Cookbook.)
(1979 Turner & Szczawinski, Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada, 168.)
GENERAL RECEIPES AND SOURCES:
1. ROSE HIP PUREE: (376-176, 114-167)
2. ROSE PETAL HONEY: (305-176)
3. ROSE PETAL VINEGAR: (305-177)
4. APPLE AND ROSE PETAL PIE: (305-176)
5. ROSE HIP SYRUP: (305-197, 114-167)
6. ROSE HIP BUTTER: (247-166)
7. ROSE HIP JELLY: (247-163, 325-237, 114-168)
8. CANDIED ROSE HIPS: (247-153, 325-249)
9. ROSE HIP CATSUP: (247-87)
10. ROSE HIP PIE: (247-97)
11. WILD ROSE PETAL CUP CAKES: (247-120)
12. ROSE HIP JUICE: (247-142)
13. WILD ROSE HIP WINE: (247-149, 86-51)
14. ROSE HIP POWDER: (247-183)
15. CHILLED ROSE-HIP SOUP: (325-128)
16. ROSE-PETAL JAM: (98-87)
17. ROSE-HIP & PRUNE-JUICE SHERBET: (114-168)
18. Crystallized Roses (141-694)
19. Rose-Petal Sandwiches (141-694)
20. Pot-Pourri of Roses (141-692)
21. Rose Hip Crumble Pie (247-97)
MEDICINAL USES
NATIVE MEDICINAL USES:
- 1795 Samuel Hearne, A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort in Hutson's Bay to the
Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, and 1772. "Hips of a small size, though
but few in number, are also found on the banks of Churchill River, at some distance from
the sea. But in the interior parts of the country they are frequently found in such vast
quantities, that at a distance they make the spots they grow on appear perfectly red.
In the interior parts of Hudson's Bay they are as large as any I ever remember to have
seen, and when ripe, have a most delightful bloom; but at that seasson there is scarcely
one in ten which has not a worm in it; and they frequently act as a strong purgative."
(305-109)
- 1885 W. J. Hoffman, The Midewiwin or Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibwa, 200.
"A piece of root placed in lukewarm water, after which the liquid is applied to inflamed
eyes." (369-172)
- 1926-7 Frances Densmore, Uses of Plants by the Chippewa Indians, Chippewa (Pages
275-397). "Hips used as food...336. Decoction of the roots of the wild rose, prairie
sage, seneca snakeroot and the ground plum taken for convulsions...356. Root in decoction
applied externally to wounds..356. Inner bark of the root of the rose and red raspberry
for cataract. "These two remedies are used successively, the first for removing
inflammation, and the second for healing the eye. They are prepared in the same way, the
second layer of the root being scraped and put in a bit of cloth. This is soaked in warm
water and squeezed over the eye, letting some of the liquid run into the eye. This is
done 3 times a day. It was said that these would cure cataract unless too far advanced,
and that improvement would be shown quickly if the case could be materially
helped."....364. The roots of the seneca snakeroot, prairie sage, ground plum and wild
rose made into a tonic. They were dried; "the first name is pounded and kept seperately.
Equal parts of the last three are pounded together until powdered...A quart of water is
heated and about 1/3 of a teaspoon of the mixed ingredients is placed on the surface of
the water at the 4 sides of the pail. A very little of the first (seneca snakeroot)...is
placed on top of each. The ingredients soon dissolve. A stronger decoction was secured
by boiling. The medicine was taken 4 times a day, the dose being small at first, and
gradually increased to about a tablespoonful. A measure made from birchbark was used for
this remedy." (369-172, 211-356)
- 1923 Huron H. Smith, Ethnobotany of the Menomini, 50. "The Menomini believe that
eating the rose hips...will cause a healthy person to get an itching like the piles. The
medicinal part is the skin of the fruit. This is eaten to cure stomach troubles."
(369-172)
- 1928 Huron H. Smith, Ethnobotany of the MESKWAKI, 242. "The skin of the rose hip
is used for stomach trouble...McIntosh and the Meskwaki use it for itching piles or for
an itch anywhere on the body...The whole fruit is boiled down to a syrup." (369-172)
- 1932 Huron H. Smith, Ethnobotany of the OJIBWE, 385. "The Pillager Ojibwe use the
skin of the fruit for stomach trouble. The Flambeau Ojibwe...dry and powder the flowers
for use in relieveing heartburn. The skin of the rose hips is a medicine for
indigestion." (369-172)
- 1933 Huron H. Smith, Ethnobotany of the POTAWATOMI, 78. "The Forest Potawatomi use
the root of the smooth rose for medicine whereas the Prairie Potawatomi use the skin of
the
rose hips. The Forest Potawatomi make a tea for the treatment of lumbago and headaches."
(369-172)
- 1945 Jacques Rousseau, Le Folklore botanique de Caughnawaga, MOHAWK transl. 47.
"An astringent intestinal used by the coureurs des bois. An introduced species, but other
native species may be used by the Indians in the same way." (369-172)
- 1945 Erna Gunther, Ethnobotany of Western Washington, 34. "R. pisocarpa: The
Snohomish boil the roots and drink the tea for sore throat. The bark is steeped, and the
liquid given by the Squaxin as a soothing drink after childbirth." (46-34)
- 1945 Erna Gunther, Ethnobotany of Western Washington, 34. "The Quinault reduce the
twigs to ashes which are mixed with skunk oil and applied to syphilis sores. The Quileute
burn the haws and use them in the same way "on swellings". The Skagit boil the roots with
sugar and take it by the spoonful as a remedy for sore throat. This sounds like a fairly
modern medicine. They also use an infusion of the root as an eye wash. The Cowlitz bathe
a baby in water in which the leaves have been boiled, to strengthen him, whether he is
ill or well. The bark is boiled into a tea by the Chehalis and given to women in
childbirth to ease labor pains." (46-34)
- 1972 Jeanne Rose, Herbs & Things, 101. "Roger Bacon, the thirteenth century English
Philosopher, used the conserve of roses as a drink. It is a useful astringent both
internally and externally. A rose petal infusion is used as a vaginal douche, and as a
drink to purge the body. It is used for menstrual complaints, as a wash for ulcers and
sores of the mouth, ears, and anus, and as an ointment for chapped hands and lips."
(314-101)
- 1973 Carrier Linguistic Committee, Plants of Carrier Country, 86. "It is good for
eye sores by taking the roots, scraping them and soaking in warm water. Then they boil
it for a little while and apply it to their eyes." (280-86)
- 1977 S. M. Lamont, The Fisherman Lake Slave and Their Environment, 70. "Among the
Fisherman Lake Slave, the petals of the rose were chewed and placed upon a bee sting to
relieve the pain." (305-109)
- 1977 S. M. Lamont, The Fisherman Lake Slave and Their Environment, 70. "Rosa
acicularis Lindl.: The roots were pulled up, washed and peeled to be used fresh or dried.
After they were broken in short lengths they were boiled for about an hour. One half
cupful was taken for a cough. Dry roots were stored wrapped in birch-bark." (305-109)
EUROPEAN MEDICINAL USES:
- 1475 Thorleif Bjornsson, An Icelandic medical manuscript translated by Henning
Larson in 1931, 117. "Rosa is rose, dry and cold in the first degree. If one crushes
rose and applies to erysipelas, it helps. It is good for too much heat of the stomach
or the heart. Roses crushed and drunk with wine are good for diarrhoea. All
eye-ointments should have the juice of roses. If one dries roses and crushes them fine,
that is good to put in the mouth with honey for sores of the mouth. If one drinks fresh
roses crushed with honey, it is good for great heat. If one wets the bee-hive with rose
juice and milk, the bees will not go away. Roses are also good for the sting of the
spider. If one crushes roses with salt it is good for a tumor, though it be old. A
woman, too, may be purged with rose juice boiled in salt. The same, too, is good to drink
for pustules which come internally. It is also good for dysentery. Salt and roses
crushed together is good for dog's bite. If one holds rose juice in his mouth, it is good
for the teeth. If one
crushes roses with honey and rubs upon the eyes, that lets him see well...32. Electuary
of rose juice, which is made of juice of roses and many other spices....Cleanses too,
those who are convalescing from tertian and quotidian fever without any danger or harm."
(369-171)
- 1597 John Gerard, Gerard's Herbal, 273. "The distilled water of Roses is good for
the strengthning of the heart, and refreshing of the spirits, and likewise for all things
that require a gentle cooling. The same being put in junketting dishes, cakes, sauces,
and many other pleasant things, giveth a fine and delectable taste. It mitigateth the
paine of the eies proceeding of a hot cause, bringeth sleep, which also the fresh roses
themselves provoke through their sweet and pleasant smell. Of like vertue also are the
leaves of these preserved in Sugar, especially if they be onely bruised with the hands,
and diligently rempered with Sugar, and so heat at the fire rather than boyled." (387-273)
- 1597 John Gerard, Gerard's Herbal, 273. "The CONSERVE OF ROSES, as well that which
is crude and raw, as that which is made by ebullition or boiling, taken in the morning
fasting, and last at night, strengthneth the heart, and taketh away the shaking and
trembling thereof, and in a word is the most familiar thing to be used for the purposes
aforesaid, and is thus made:
Take Roses at your pleasure, put them to boyle in faire water, having regard to the
quantity; for if you have many Roses you may take more water; if fewer, the lesse water
will serve: the which you shall boyle at the least three or foure houres, even as you
would boile a piece of meate, untill in the eating they be very tender, at which time the
Roses will lose their colour, that you would thinke your labour lost, and the thing
spoiled. But proceed, for though the Roses have lost their colour, the water hath gotten
the tincture thereof; then shall you adde unto one pound of Roses, foure pound of fine
sugar in pure pouder, and so according to the rest of the Roses. Thus shall you let them
boyle gently after the sugar is put thereto, continually stirring it with a woodden
Spatula untill it be cold, whereof one pound weight is worth six pound of the crude or
raw conserve, as well for the vertures and goodnesse in taste, as also for the beautifull
colour.
The making of the crude or raw conserve is very well knowne, as also Sugar roset,
and divers other pretty things made of Roses and Sugar, which are impertent unto our
history, because I intend nether to make, thereof an Apothecaries shop, nor a Sugar-Bakers
storehouse, leaving the rest for our cunning confectioners." (387-274)
- 1640 Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal, 299. "Government and Virtues:
This is under Jupiter. The flowers are accounted more astringent than the garden roses,
and are a specific for the excess of the catamenia. The pulp of the hips has a grateful
acidity, strengthens the stomach, cools the heat of fevers, is pectoral, good for coughs
and spitting of blood, and in cases where astringents are safe; they are a good ingredient
in compositions for the whites, and too great a discharge of the menses. The hips are
grateful to the taste, and a considerable restorative, fitly given to consumptive persons;
the conserve is proper in all distempers of the breast, and in coughs and tickling rheums.
The white and red roses are cooling and drying; the bitterness in the roses when they are
fresh, especially the juice, purges choler, and watery humours; but being dried, and that
heat which caused the bitterness being consumed, they have then a binding and astringent
quality: those also that are not full blown, do both cool and bind more than those that
are full blown, and the white rose more than the red. The decoction of red toses made
with wine and used, is very good for head-ache, and pains in the eyes, ears, throat and
gums; as also for the fundament, and the lower parts of the belly and the matrix, being
bathed or put into them. The same decoction, with the roses remaining in it, is applied
to the region of the heart to ease the inflammation therein, as also St. Anthony's fire,
and other diseases of the stomach. Being dried and beaten to powder, and taken in steeled
beer or water, it helps to stay womens' courses. The yellow threads in the middle of the
roses being powdered, and drunk, in the distilled water of quinces, stays the overflowing
of womens' courses, and stays the defluxions of rheum upon the gums and teeth, preserving
them from corruption, and fastening them if they be loose, if washed therewith, and some
vinegar of squills added. The heads with the seed being used in powder, or in a
decoction, stays the lax and spitting of blood. Red roses strengthen the heart, the
stomach, the liver, and the retentive faculty; they mitigate the pains that arise from
heat, cool inflammations, procure rest and sleep, stay both the whites and reds in women,
the gonorrhoe, or running of the reins, and fluxes of the belly; the juice purges and
cleanses the body from choler and phlegm. The husks, with the beards and nails of the
roses, are binding and cooling, and the distilled water is good for the heat and redness
in the eyes, and to stay and dry up the rheums and redness in the eyes, and to stay and
dry up the rheums and watering of them. The electuary of roses is purging; two or three
drams taken by itself, or in some convenient liquor, is a purge sufficient for a weak
constitution, but may be increased to six drams, according to the strength of the patient.
It purges choler without trouble, and is good in hot fevers, and pains in the head, which
arise from hot choleric humours, and heat of the eyes; the jaundice also, and joint-aches
proceeding of hot humour. The moist conserve is of much use, both binding and cordial,
for until it is about two years old, it is more binding than cordial, and after that more
cordial than binding. Some of the younger conserve taken with mithridate, is good for
those troubled with defluxions of rheum in the eyes, and mixed with the powder of mastic,
is good for gonorrhoea, and looseness of humours in the body. The old conserve mixed with
aromaticum rosarum, is a remedy for those who faint, swoon, or are troubled with weakness
and tremblings of the heart, it strengthens both it and a weak stomach, helps digestion,
stays casting, and is a preservative in the time of infection. The dry conserve, which
is called the sugar of roses, strengthens the heart and spirits, and stays defluxions.
The syrup of dried roses strengthens a stomach given to casting, cools an over-heated
liver, and the blood in agues, comforts the heart, and resists putrefaction and infection,
and helps to stay laxes and fluxes. Honey of roses is used in gargles and lotions to wash
sores, either in the mouth, throat, or other parts, both to cleanse and heal them, and
stay the fluxes of humours that fall upon them. It is used in clysters both to cool and
cleanse. The cordial powders, called 'diarrhodon abbatis' and 'aromaticum rosarum',
comfort and strengthen the heart and stomach, procure an appetitie, help digestion, stay
vomiting, and are very good for those that have slippery bowels, to strengthen them, and
to dry up their moisture: red rose-water is well known, and of a similar use on all
occasions, and better than the damask rose-water, it is cooling, cordial, refreshing,
quickening the weak and faint spirits, used either in meats or broths, to wash the
temples, to smell at the nose, or to smell the sweet vapours out of a perfume pot, or cast
into a hot fire-shovel. It is of much use against the redness and inflammations of the
eyes to bathe therewith, and the temples of the head. The ointment of roses is much used
against heat and inflammations of the head, to anoint the forehead and temples, and if
mixed with the 'Unguentum Populeon' procures rest; it is also used for the heat of the
liver, the back, and reins, and to cool and heal pushes, wheals, and other red pimples
rising in the face and other parts. Oil of roses is used by itself to cool hot
inflammation or swellings, and to bind and stay fluxes of humours to sores, and is also
put into ointments and plasters that are cooling and binding, and restraining the flux
of humours. The dried leaves of the red roses are used both outwardly and inwardly; they
cool, bind, and are cordial, for of them are made 'aromaticum rosarum, diarrhodon abbatis,
and saccharum rosarum.' Rose-leaves and mint, heated and applied outwardly to the
stomach, stay castings, strengthen a weak stomach, and, applied as a formentation to the
region of the liver and heart, greatly cool and temper them; quiet the over-heated
spirits, and cause rest and sleep. The syrup of damask-roses, is both simple and
compound, and made with agaric. The simple solusive syrup is a familiar, safe, gentle,
and easy medicine, purging choler, taken from one ounce to three or four. The conserve
and preserved leaves of those roses operate by mildly opening the belly. The hips of wild
roses, when ripe, are made into a conserve with sugar, of a pleasant taste, it binds the
belly, and stays defluxions from the head upon the stomach, and dries up the moisture,
and helps digestion. The pulp of the hips dried to a hard consistence, that it may be
powdered, and this powder taken in drink, speedily stays the whites. It is often used
in drink, to break the stone, provoke urine when it is stopped, and ease and help the
colic; some persons burn it and then take it for the same purpose." (144-301)
- 1741 Farrier's Dispensatory London 17. "Red roses, petals effectual astringent.
Honey of Roses, take a good handful of red rose petals, the whites being picked off (the
white heel of the red petal), infuse upon them a Pint of boiling water when tghey have
stood for some Hours, pour off the Infusion; warm it over a gentle Fire in a cover'd
Vessel and pour in another handful of fresh leaves (petals); let this be repeated till
the Infusion is very strong, then add twelve ounces of Honey and boil it to the
consistence of a Syrup. This is a very useful Medicine in many external applications,
where the Bones or Sinews are wounded and laid bare, in which case it is always better,
when mixed with Brandy or Spirit of Wine, Aqua Vitae or Tincture of Myrrh. Conserve of
Roses, take any quantity of Red Rose Leaves (petals) beat them in a marble or stone
mortar, with treble their quantity of loaf Sugar, till they are thoroughly incorporated
with it. This is of good use inwardly to the human body, in Pectoral Disorders; but to
Horses, it is chiefly beneficial to be apply'd as a Cataplasm to the eyes when they are
hot and inflamed." (369-171)
- 1785 Rev. Manasseh Cutler, An Account of Some of the Vegetable Productions,
Naturally Growing In This Part of America. "Wild rose, blossoms red, berry pale red,
common in moist land. The blossoms gathered before they expand and dried, are astringent,
but when full blown are purgative. This species is generally preferred for conserves.
A perfumed water may be distilled form the blossoms. The pulp of the berries, beat up
with sugar, makes a Conserve of Hips of the London Dispensatory. The dried leaves of
every species of rose have been recommended as a substitute for Indian tea, giving out
a fine colour, a sub-astringent taste, and a grateful smell." (369-171)
- 1812 E.G. Clarke, A Conspectus of the London, edinburgh and Dublin Pharmacopoeias,
43. "Confection of red rose...astringent in hemorrhages &c. It is very rarely employed
unless combined with nitrate of potassium, alum, opium, sulphuric acid and similar
medicines. Externally as a cataplasm in chronic inflammation." (369-171)
- 1820's Materia Medica mss Edinburgh-Toronto. 36. "Rosa Gallica. The petals have
a slight degree of astringency, the infusion in water forms a pleasant astringent gargle."
(369-171)
- 1833 George Howard, A Rare and Choice Collection of Well-tried and Invaluable
Recipes for Healing Human Beings and Likewise Horses, Cows, Sheep, Dogs, &c.&c.,
Quebec 29. "To cure a Bruise in the Eye apply a plaister of the conserve of roses...62.
To cure the Itch beat together the juice of 2 or 3 lemons with the same quantity of the
oil of roses. Anoint the parts affected. It cures in 2 or 3 times applying....92. To
cure a Quincy in the Throat. Swallow slowly white rose water mixed with syrup of
mulberries." (369-171)
- 1842 Robert Christison, A Dispensatory or Commentary on the Pharmacopoeias of
Great Britian, 798-9. "The petals...are used fresh for making a conserve, and are dried
for other pharmaceutical purposes...The honey...a very old remedy, is still used by some
in sore throat and ulcerations of the lining membrane of the mouth...The conserve is one
of the best, if not the very best, of all materials for making pill-masses...which may
be kept long without becoming hard. The infusion...as a tonic, refrigerant and
astringent, especially for compounding gargles...But the active properties it possesses
depend mainly on the sulphuric acid it contains." (369-172)
- 1894 Toronto Household Guide 258. "Lait Virginal...Many skins will not stand
constant washing, but need to be cleansed after a dusty ride or walk by other means than
soap and water. Lait Virginal is a delicious preparation and can be made as follows: One
pint of rose, orange flower, or elder flower water, half an ounce of simple tincture of
benzoin and ten drops of tincture of myrrh." (369-172)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 692. "ROSE GALLS: In the Middle Ages these Rose
Galls, under the name of 'Bedeguar', were held in high repute in medicine for their
astringency and supposed power of inducing sleep if placed under the pillow at night."
(141-692)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 690. "In modern herbal medicine the flowers of the
common Red Rose dried are given in infusions and sometimes in powder for haemorrhage.
A tincture is made from them by pouring 1 pint of boiling water on 1 oz. of the dried
petals, adding 15 drops of oil of Vitriol and 3 or 4 drachms of white sugar. The tincture
when strained is of a beautiful red colour. Three or four spoonsful of the tincture taken
two or three times a day are considered good for strengthening the stomach and a pleasant
remedy in all haemorrhages." (141-690)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 689. "OINTMENT OF ROSE-WATER, commonly known as
'Cold Cream', enjoys deserved popularity as a soothing, cooling application for chapping
of the hands, face, abrasions and other superficial lesions of the skin. For its
preparation, the British Pharmacopoeia directs that 1.5 oz. each of spermaceti and white
wax be melted with 9 oz. of Almond oil, the mixture poured into a warmed mortar and 7
fluid ounces of rose-water and 8 minims of oil of Rose then incorporated with it."
(141-689)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 689. "ROSE-WATER: The British Pharmacopoeia directs
that it shall be prepared by mixing the distilled rose-water of commerce, obtained mostly
from R. damascena, but also from R. centifolia and other species, with twice its volume
of distilled water immediately before use. It is used as a vehicle for other medicines
and as an eye lotion. 'Triple rose-water' is water saturated with volatile oil of Rose
petals, obtained as a by-product in the distillation of oil of Roses. The finest
rose-water is obtained by distillation of the fresh petals. It should be clear and
colourless, not mucilaginous, and to be of value medicinally must be free from all
metallic impurities." (141-689)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 688. "SYRUP OF RED ROSE: Official in the USP, is
used to impart an agreeable flavour and odour to other syrups and mixtures. The syrup
is of a fine red colour and has an agreeable, acidulous, somewhat astringent taste."
(141-688)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 688. "HONEY OF ROSES: Prepared from clarified honey
and fluid extract of roses. It is considered more agreeable than ordinary honey and
somewhat astringent. In olden days, Honey of Roses was popular for sore throats and
ulcerated mouth and was made by pounding fresh petals in a small quantity of boiling
water, filtering the mass and boiling the liquid with honey." (141-688)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 688. "ROSE VINEGAR: A specific on the continent for
headache caused by hot sun, is prepared by steeping dried rose petals in best distilled
vinegar, which should not be boiled. Cloths or linen rags are soaked in the liquid and
are then applied to the head." (141-688)
- 1974 John B. Lust, The Herb Book, 134. "Properties and Uses: Astringent,
carminative, diuretic, tonic. Brier hips are particularly beneficial for the digestive
apparatus and produce a diuretic effect without irritating the kidneys. Where there is
a tendency toward kidney stones or gravel, use brier hips as a preventive or arrestant.
They are also recommended for kidney or bladder inflammation. By eliminating uric acid
accumulations, brier hips also help in gouty and rheumatic complaints. A decoction of
crushed archenes is also sometimes used for fever and as a beverage tea. PREPARATION AND
DOSAGE: Infusion: Use 1 to 2 tsp. hips (without seeds) with 1 cup boiling water.
DECOCTIONS: Use 1/2 to 1 tsp. powdered achenes with 1 cup of water. Boil until 1/2 cup
of liquid remains. Drink in the course of the day." (195-134)
- 1983 David Potterton, Culpeper's Color Herbal, 61. "Dog Rose (Rosa canina): The
leaves have been used as a substitute for tea. Rose hip tea may be purchased from health
stores. The 'pleasant acidity' is due to the hips containing citric acid, malic acid and
ascorbic acid (vitamin C) which explains why it is 'good for scurvy'. The hips can be
eaten or made into a jam, or syrup. Rose hip syrup is especially good for infants and
young children as a nutritional supplement. The SEEDS are diuretic, and when dried and
powdered they can be used as a remedy for urinary stones. Use about a teaspoonful in
water." (398-61)
- 1983 David Potterton, Culpeper's Color Herbal, 159. "Damask Rose (Rosa damascena):
"Astrology: Under the dominion of Venus. Medicinal Virtues: A syrup is made from the
flowers by infusing them for 24 hours in boiling water, straining and adding twice the
weight of refined sugar. A small quantity will keep the bowels regular. A conserve made
of the unripe flowers has similar properties.
A conserve made of the fruit of the Wild or Dog Rose (Rosa canina) is very pleasant
and of considerable efficacy for common colds and coughs. The flowers of the common Red
Rose (Rose rubra) are dried and given in infusions and sometimes in powder against
overflowing of the menses, spitting of blood and other haemorrhages. An excellent
tincture is made from them by pouring a pint (568 ml) of boiling water on an ounce (28
g) of the dried petals and adding 15 drops of oil of vitriol and three or four drams (5.3
or 7 g) of sugar, stirring together and leaving to cool. This tincture, when strained,
is of a beautiful red colour. It may be taken for strengthening the stomach and
preventing vomiting to the amount of three or four spoonfuls twice or three times a day.
It is a powerful and pleasant remedy in immoderate discharges of the menses and all other
fluxes and haemorrhages.
The Damask Rose, on account of its fragrance, belongs to the cephalics, but it is
also valuable for its cathartic quality. An infusion made of half a dram to two drams
(0.8 g to 3.5 g) of the dried leaves makes a good purge." (398-158)
- 1983 David Potterton, Culpeper's Color Herbal, 159. "Damask Rose (Rosa damascena):
This Rose is valued for its perfume and it is from the damask Rose and similar varieties
that Attar of Rose perfume is produced. The official Oil of Rose also comes from the
Damask Rose. This is used to make Rose-water, which herbalists incorporate into eye
lotions. An infusion of the petals - 1 oz (28 g) to 1 pt (568 ml) of boiling water - can
be used domestically as an eye lotion." (398-159)
- 1986 Reader's Digest, Magic & Medicine of Plants, 164. "Though its use in
prescriptions goes back to Hippocrates, the dog rose came into full bloom as a medicinal
plant only in World War II. With Great Britain unable to import fresh citrus fruits, the
government organized the gathering of dog rose fruits, or hips, which were known to be
rich in vitamin C. Processed into syrup, the rose hips helped to prevent scurvy in the
isolated country....The hips are processed into jellies, tonics, and pills, as well as
syrups. The jelly is perhaps the most popular form....The Roman naturalist Pliny
attributed the name dog rose to a belief that the plant's root could cure the bite of a
mad dog. Although the hips were once officially sanctioned as an astringent and
refrigerant, or fever-allaying medicine, they are now valued medicinally almost
exclusively as a rich source of vitamin C." (372-164)
- ROSE HIP WINE: Take 1 liter (1 quart) ripe rose hips, cut them in half, and remove
pits. Crush the hips and mix with 500 g (1 pound) sugar. Add 3 liters (3 quarts) of
white wine. Let stand at least 1 week in tightly corked glass container. Filter the
liquid and place it in bottles. Take 1 small wine glass daily to increase vitamin C
supply or to help mild bladder ailments. ("Healing Plants, A Modern Herbal", Edited by
William A.R. Thomson, M.D.)
RUSSIAN MEDICINAL USES:
CHINESE MEDICINAL USES:
- 1973 Li Shih-chen, Chinese Medicinal Herbs, 380. "Tea Rose (Rosa indica or R.
multiflora): Ch'iang-wei (General Name) and Ying-shih (the Fruit). One kind with very
large flowers is called Fo-chien-hsiao (Buddha sees and smiles). It grows wild in the
forests and on banks. In the spring, children strip the bark and spines from the yong
shoots and eat these later. The flowers have yellow anthers and pale or pink petals.
The fruits are used in wounds, sprains, injuries, foul sores, and are said to be anodyne.
The root is considered carminative and astringent, and is used in fluxes, ulcers, wounds,
skin diseases, and polyuria. The leaves are applied in ulcers." (343-380)
- 1973 Li Shih-chen, Chinese Medicinal Herbs, 380. "Rosa laevigata (Chin-ying-tsu):
This rose is found everywhere. It bears a white flower, a yellow capsule, and small
seeds, which are hairy and aromatic. These seeds are carminative, astringent, and
diuretic. The flowers are also used in dysentery, and to restore the color of hair. The
leaves are famous as a vulnerary remedy. The root is anthelmintic, and the bark of the
root is astringent, and is used in diarrhoea and menorrhagia." (343-381)
- 1973 Li Shih-chen, Chinese Medicinal Herbs, 381. "Rosa rugosa (Mei-kuei-hua): This
is the cultivated species of rose, with red and pink flowers, which is so highly prized
by the Chinese. This rose is fragrant, its nature is cooling, its taste is sweet with
a slight bitterishness, and it acts especially on the spleen and liver, promoting the
circulation of the blood. It is prescribed in the form of an extract for hematemesis,
and the flowers are used in all diseases of the liver, to scatter abscesses, and in blood
diseases generally. The petals are used as tea to soothe the liver." (343-381)
- 1977 The Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province, A Barefoot Doctor's
Manual, 263. "Rosa chinensis Jacq. (Yueh-chi Hua). Properties & Action: Warm, pleasant
to taste. Stimulates blood circulation, regulates menstruation and alleviates pain.
Conditions Most Used For: (1) Menstrual irregularity, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea (2)
traumatic injuries, swellings and pains of back and legs. Preparation: Flowers are
usually used for medicinal purposes, roots and leaves less frequently; flowers 1 to 3
ch'ien, or roots and leaves 3 to 5 ch'ien, used each time, prepared in decoction."
(88-223)
- 1977 The Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province, A Barefoot Doctor's
Manual, 263. "Chin Ying-tzu (Rosa laevigata Michx): Properties & Action: Neutral,
slightly pleasant yet acid to taste. Detoxifies, stabilizes the kidneys, aids menstrual
regularity. Conditions most used for: (1) Chronic dysentery, urinary tract infections;
(2) wet dreams, prolapse of uterus (3) menstrual irregularities, traumatic injuries.
Preparation: Roots, fruits and leaves are used medicinally, roots or fruits 5 ch'ien to
1 liang each time in decoction. Fresh leaves may be crushed for external use." (88-263)
INDIAN (AYURVEDIC) USES:
- 1986 Lad & Frawley, The Yoga of Herbs, 141: (396-141)
PART USED: Flowers.
ACTIONS: alterative, emmenagogue, refrigerant, nervine, carminative, laxative,
astringent.
INDICATIONS: Amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, uterine hemorrhage, inflamed eyes, dizziness,
headaches, sore throat, enlarged tonsils.
PREPARATION: Infusion (hot or cold), powder (250 mg to 1 g), rose water.
ROSE FLOWERS are particularly good for reducing Pitta (the bodily fire humour). They
relieve heat, congestion of the blood and soothe inflamed surfaces. Fresh rose petals
can be macerated in honey or raw sugar and used for sore throat or mouth sores; or they
may be taken with warm milk as a mild laxative for Pitta individuals.
ROSE WATER can be prepared by boiling fresh petals and condensing the steam into another
vessel. It opens the mind and heart and is cooling and refreshing to the eyes. Rose is
a well known flower of love and devotion of Bhakti and of Puja, of devotional worship.
The lotus of the heart is a rose.
As a tonic, rose flowers combine well with shatavari. For regulating menstruation, they
combine well with safflower or hibiscus.
HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINE:
PREPARATION & DOSAGES:
- 1977 Clarence Meyer, Fifty Years Of The Herbalist Almanac, 197. "ROSE WATER: Oil
of Rose, 15 drops. Carbonate of Magnesia, 1 teaspoonful. Distilled water, 1 pint. Rub
the oil first with the magnesia, then with the water gradually added, and filter."
(345-197)
COLLECTING & DRYING:
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 688. "When employed for the preparation of the drug,
only flower-buds just about to open are collected, no fully-expanded flowers. They must
only be gathered in dry weather and no petals of any roses that have suffered from effects
of damp weather must be taken. The whole of the unexpanded petals are plucked from the
calyx so that they remain united in small conical masses, leaving the stamens behind.
Any stamens that may have come away with the petals should be shaken out. The
lighter-coloured, lower portion is then cut off from the deep purplish-red upper part.
The little masses, kept as entire as possible, are used in the fresh state for preparation
of the 'confection,' but for making the infusion, they are dried carefully and quickly
on trays in a good current of warm air. They are dried until crisp and while crisp packed
in tins that the colour and crispness may be retained. If exposed to the air, they will
re-absorb moisture and lose colour." (141-688)
- 1967 T.E. Wallis, Textbook of Pharmacognosy. 5th ed., "The Petals are gathered by
picking the buds before they expand and cutting off the white heels, then dried at about
35 C. to kill any insect eggs, then store in a tightly closed jar away from the light."
(369-172)
VETERINARY MEDICINE:
MATERIAL USES
BURIAL PRACTICES:
COSMETICS:
- 1977 Clarence Meyer, Fifty Years Of The Herbalist Almanac, 170. "ROSE PEARLS: Beat
the petals of the red rose in an iron mortar for some hours, until they form a thick
paste, which is to be rolled into beads and dried. They are very hard, susceptible of
a fine polish and retain all the fragance of the flower." (345-170)
- 1978 Turner & Szezawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 88. "Many
Indian people used them (hips) as decorations on necklaces and clothing. Try this idea:
gather a bucketful of rose hips just before Christmas and string them with a sharp darning
needle. Drape these bright strings of "beads" over the branches of your Christmas tree
along with strings of cranberries and popcorn to make truly natural Christmas tree. When
it is time to take down your tree, the rose hips will be dried and ready to store away
to be enjoyed later as tea." (98-88)
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 49. "A light moisturizing lotion
which is soothing for a dry skin can be made from rose petals. To make a rose petal
lotion: Crush 2 large handfuls of fresh petals in 1 cup of boiling water. Leave to
infuse until it is quite cold then strain and mix with cream. Store in pots in the
refrigerator. An effective and gentle hand cream can be made by mixing the infusion with
glycerine." (416-49)
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 50. "A rose petal aromatic bath is
refreshing and relaxing. To make a herbal bath sachet: Use fresh or dried petals in a
small muslin or cheesecloth bag tied to the bath tap. Let the water rush through the bag.
Alternatively, a strong infusion can be made and strained before adding to the bath water.
(416-50)
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 50. "A cupful of rose toilet vinegar
added to the bath water, or a teaspoonful in the water for washing the face, is fragrant
and refreshing. To make a toilet vinegar: Use a good white wine vinegar. Fill a jar with
fresh or dried rose petals and cover the petals with vinegar, pressing them well down.
Cover the jar with a piece of muslin or cheesecloth secured with a rubber band. Leave
the vinegar for 2-3 weeks, then filter the vinegar into stoppered bottles. This fragrant
toilet water is a good skin cleansing lotion." (416-50)
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 50. "Concentrated rose oil cannot
be made at home, but a useful rose oil can be made which will add a lovely fragrance to
a pot pourri. It does require an enormous amount of rose petals. To make rose oil: Put
2 cups of olive oil into a wide-necked glass jar and add as many rose petals as possible,
pressing them well down into the oil. Leave them in the sun for 3-4 days then strain
through muslin or cheesecloth or a nylon strainer. Press the petals well to make sure
none of the oil is left behind. Repeat the process about 8 times or as many as possible
to ensure the oil will smell strongly of roses. When the oil is sufficiently perfumed,
store in an airtight bottle. Only a few drops of the oil need to be added to a pot
pourri. Rose oil can also be used to make the eyelids shine. Lightly smooth a very
little oil on to closed lids." (416-50)
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 50. "An attractive rose pot pourri
is easy to make and has a wonderful fragrance. To make pot pourri: Mix a handful of
dried finely ground orris root, a 1/2 teaspoon each of allspice and cinnamon, and 1/2
teaspoon of homemade rose oil with 8 large handfuls of dried damask rose petals. Put the
mixture into a polythene bag. Close the bag with a tie and shake thoroughly. Leave the
bag closed and in the dark for 2-3 weeks then put the pot pourri in a pretty bowl or jar.
(416-50).
- 1987 Philippa Back, The Illustrated Herbal, pg. 50. "Rose sachets are another way
to enjoy the scent of summer through the winter months. Use the sachets amongst clothes
and linen, hanging in cupboards or even tucking them into a pocket or handbag. To make
rose sachets: Make up small bags of pretty muslin or organdie. Mix well together 5-6
handfuls of crushed dried rose petals, 1 handful of crushed dried lemon verbena leaves
and 1/2 teaspoon of rose oil and fill the little bags with the mixture. Sew the tops of
the bags together or tie with coloured ribbon. The same mixture would make up into a
sweetly scented little cushion. A stronger smelling, spicier sachet can be made by adding
some lavender flowers in place of the lemon verbena and a little orris root poweder to
fix the scents and make them last." (416-50)
CULTIVATION:
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 685. "A rose plantation lasts from 8 to 10 years.
Five thousand rose-trees will occupy about 1/2 acre of land and will produce about 2,200
lb. of flowers during the season. It is necessary to distil about 10,000 lb. of roses to
obtain 1 lb. of oil." (141-685)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "The Bulgarian rose industry is confined to one
special mountain district, having for its centre the town of Kazanlik. The rose district
is about 80 miles long and about 30 miles wide and its average elevation about 1,300 above
the sea-level....There are about 20,000 small proprietors of rose gardens, each one owning
about 1 acre of rose plantation, which, when well tended, is calculated to yield at the
average 100 lbs of flowers every day for three weeks." (141-686)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 687. "The flowers are distilled on the same day. It
takes 30 roses to make 1 drop of otto and 60,000 roses (about 180 lb. of flowers) to make
1 oz. of otto." (141-687)
- 1986 Patrick Lima, Herbs, 99. "The species 'Rosa rugosa' and its many named
selections produce some of the biggest and most prolific hips." (352-99) (Good
explaination of best source of rose hips)
DYEING:
CORDAGE:
- 1979 Nancy J. Turner, Plants In British Columbia Indian Technology, 245. "The
Cowichan, a Halkomelem group, peeled and boiled the roots of the common wild rose (R.
nutkana) and wove them together with boiled wild gooseberry roots and red cedar roots to
make reefnets." (137-245)
IMPLEMENTS:
- 1979 Nancy J. Turner, Plants In British Columbia Indian Technology, 245. "The wild
roses were not as essential in native technology as some other plants, but they were put
to a variety of uses in different Indian cultures....The Shuswap made arrows of rose wood
(probably R. acicularis) and hollowed the stems to make pipe stems. The Thompson used
the wood of the dwarf wild rose (R. gymnocarpa) to make arrows, handles, and baby carrier
hoops. The Okanagan used wild rose leaves to place over and under food in cooking
baskets, steaming pits and pots to flavour it and prevent it from burning. They sometimes
made fishing lures by tying ant larvae onto a rose flower with horsehair. The Sechelt
squeezed wild rose flowers to obtain a perfume. In pre-European times, rose hips were
strung to make necklaces by such diverse groups as the Straits Salish of Vancouver Island
and the Blackfoot of Alberta." (137-245)
SMOKING MIXTURE:
- 1978 Nancy J. Turner, Food Plants of British Columbia Indians, Part II, 197. "The
Thompson toasted, dried, and powdered the leaves and bark of R. gymnocarpa and smoked
them, alone or mixed with tobacco." (103-197)
HISTORY & BELIEFS
HISTORICAL RECORDS:
- 1671 Charles Albanel, Jesuit Relations. "I can assert that on the fifteenth of June
there were wild roses here (Hudson Bay), as beautiful and fragrant as those at Quebec.
The season seemed to me farther advanced, the air extremely mild and agreeable. There
was no night during my visit; the twilight had not yet faded from the west when the dawn
of day appeared in the East." (131-Rose)
- 1820 Daniel W. Harmon, Journal of Voyages and Travels. "Lac la Peche or Fishing Lake
(on the Qu'Appelle River), which lies about two Days march out into the Plain from
Alexandria, which place I left on the 15th Ult. accompanied by a dozen of our people and
am come to pass the remainder of the Winter here along side of the x.y. People...For some
time after our arrival we subsisted on 'Rose-buds'! which we gathered in the fields, but
they are neither very nourishing nor palatable, yet they are much better than nothing at
all, but where to procure anything better I know not, for the Buffaloe at that time were
a great distance out into the Plains." (131- Rose)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "The birthplace of the cultivated Rose was
probably Northern Persia, on the Caspian, or Faristan on the Gulf of Persia. Thence it
spread across Mesopotamia to Palestine and across Asia Minor to Greece. And thus it was
that Greek colonists brought it to Southern Italy." (141-684)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "The voluptuous Romans of the later Empire made
lavish use of the blossoms of the Rose. Horace enjoins their unsparing use at banquets,
when they were used not only as a means of decoration, but also to strew the floors, and
even in winter the luxurious Romans expected to have petals of roses floating in their
Falernian wine. Roman brides and bridegrooms were crowned with roses, so too were the
images of Cupid and Venus and Bacchus. Roses were scattered at feasts of Flora and Hymen,
in the paths of victors, or beneath their chariot-wheels, or adorned the prows of their
war-vessels. Nor did the self-indulgent Romans disdain to wear rose garlands at their
feasts, as a preventive against drunkenness: To them, the Rose was a sign of pleasure,
the companion of mirth and wine, but it was also used at their funerals." (141-684)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "As soon as the Rose had become known to
nations with a wide literature of their own, it was not only the theme of poets, but gave
rise to many legends. Homer's allusions to it in the 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' are the
earliest records, and Sappho, the Greek poetess, writing about 600 B.C., selects the Rose
as the Queen of Flowers." (141-684)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "It was once the custom to suspend a Rose over
the dinner-table as a sign that all confidences were to be held sacred. Even now the
plaster ornament in the centre of a ceiling is known as 'the rose'." (141-684)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "The 'Oleum Rosarum, Oleum rosatum, or Oleum
rosacetum' of the Ancients was not a volatile oil, but a fatty oil perfumed with rose
petals. The first preparation of rose-water by Avicenna was in the tenth century. It
was between 1582 and 1612 that the oil or OTTO OF ROSES was discovered, as recorded in
two separate histories of the Grand Moguls. At the wedding feast of the princess
Nour-Djihan with the Emperor Djihanguyr, son of Akbar, a canal circling the whole gardens
was dug and filled with rose-water. The heat of the sun separating the water from the
essential oil of the Rose, was observed by the bridal pair when rowing on the fragrant
water. It was skimmed off and found to be an exquisite perfume. The discovery was
immediately turned to account and the manufacture of Otto of Roses was commenced in Persia
about 1612 and long before the end of the seventeenth century the distilleries of Shiraz
were working on a large scale." (141-685)
- 1934 Leslie L. Haskin, Wild Flowers of the Pacific Coast, 175. "Rose hips were a
famine food of the western tribes, a supply of nutriment to sustain life against the time
of actual starvation. To read, "It was winter and they were eating rose hips, which was
all the food they had," is to realize the culmination of Indian misery. Often the early
explorers suffered the same extremes of want. Nathaniel Wyeth, near Walla Walla, in 1832
wrote: "We found some poor horses in charge of a squaw and some children. They had no
food but rose hips of which we made our supper." Townsend, in 1833 records: 'Having
nothing prepared for supper today I strolled along the stream and made a meal of rose
buds.'" (335-175)
- 1938 Minnie W. Kamm, Old Time Herbs for Northern Gardens", 58. "The rose is said
to have sprung from the blood of Adonis, and Rosa centifolia, native of western Asia, was
well known in ancient Greece. In Roman times it was used in eye salves, ointments and
vinegars. Attar of Roses, rose oil, rose vinegar, and rose water all played a part in
mediaeval medicine, and love philters consisting of dried rose petals and violets, saffron
and myrrh, lavender and rosemary, mixed with the dried flesh of vipers and incorporated
into honey were given love-sick youths and maidens." (132-58)
- 1978 Turner & Szczawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 86. "During
the Second World War, rose hips attained tremendous importance in England and the
Scandinavian countries when the German blockades cut off citrus supplies. In 1943 alone,
British country people collected some 4.5 tonnes of rose hips, which were ground up and
made into a rose-hip syrup and distributed among the population as a vitamin supplement.
This syrup is still readily available through health clinics and most grocery stores in
the British Isles." (89-86)
SPIRITUAL BELIEFS:
- 1586 Rembert Dodoens (Henrie Lyte's translation), Dodoen's Herbal, 164. "The Rose
is called Greeke Rhodon, because it is of an excellent smell and pleasant savour, as
Plutarch writeth. Ye shall also finde this written of Roses, that at the first they were
all white and that they became red afterward with the blood of the Goddesse Venus, which
was done in this sort.
Venus loved the yoonker Adonis better than the warrier Mars (who loved Venus with all
his force and might) but when Mars perceived that Venus loved Adonis better than him, he
slew Adonis, thinking of this meanes to cause Venus not only to forgo but also to forget
hir friend Adonis, and so to love Mars onely: of the which thing when Venus had warning
how and where it should be accomplished, she was suddenly mooved and ran hastily to have
rescued Adonis, but taking no care of the way at a sudden ere she was ware, she threw hir
selfe upon a bed or thicket of white Roses, whereas with sharpe and cruell thorns, hir
tender feete were so prickt and wounded, that the blood sprang out aboundantly,
wherewithall when the Roses were bedewed and sprinkled, they became all red, the which
colour they do yet keepe (more or lesse) according to the quantitie of blood that fell
upon them) in remembrance of the cleere and pleasant Venus. Some others write that for
very anger which she had conceived against Mars, for the killing of hir friend the faire
Adonis, she gave hir tender bodie willingly to be spoiled and mangled; and in despite of
Mars, she threw hie selfe into a bed or herbor of prickly Roses.
Some also say, that Roses became red with the casting downe of that heavenly drinke
Nectar, which was shed by Cupide that wanton boy, who playing with the Goddesse sitting
at the table at a blanket, with his wings overthrew the pot wherein the Nectar was, And
therefore as Philostratus saith, the Rose is the flower of Cupid, or Cupids flower."
(345-165)
- 1978 Turner & Szezawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 88. "Indians
of western North America believed that wild roses possess properties harmful to ghosts
and evil spirits. For this reason, peoples such as the Okanagan of British Columbia often
placed rose branches all around the house and yard of a newly deceased person to prevent
his ghost from returning and haunting the place. Relatives and friends drank a tea made
from rose branches to protect them from the ghost, and a large rose branch was used to
sweep out the grave before the corpse was lowered into it so that none of the living
around the grave would be "drawn down" into it." (98-88)
- 1986 Richard Spellenberg, Familiar Flowers of North America, Eastern Region, 152.
"According to one Greek legend, it was Chloris, goddess of flowers, who created this
delight when she granted to a lovely nymph life as a flower. To the new flower, Aphrodite
gave beauty; the three Graces bestowed brilliance, joy, and charm; and Bacchus, master
of the revels, gave nectar and fragrance. Chloris presented her creation to Eros, god of
love, and the red rose became the symbol of love and desire." (401-152)
NOMENCLATURE:
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 684. "The word 'rosa' comes from the Greek word
'rodon' (red), and the rose of the Ancients was of a deep crimson colour, which probably
suggested the fable of its springing from the blood of Adonis." (141-684)
- 1978 Turner & Szezawinski, Wild Coffee & Tea Substitutes of Canada, 86. "Prickly
rose (R. acicularis Lindl.) is the floral emblem of Alberta."
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LIFE-FORMS:
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 692. "The stems of the various kinds of wild rose
are often found tufted with little fluffy balls of what look like crimson moss. These
are really galls and result from the puncture of a small insect, a kind of wasp - the
'Rose Gall' - in a similar manner as Oak Galls are formed. The wasp punctures a leaf
while it is yet undeveloped in the bud and there lays its eggs. Immediately the normal
growth of the leaf alters and numerous larvae are formed, which hatch out and creep
further into the leaf tissues until the whole swells into the moss-like gall we know."
(141-692)
- 1931 M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 685. "The (rose) plantations are all more or less
attacked by the rose rust parasite (Pragmidium subcorticium)." (141-685)
- 1981 Robert Hendrickson, The Berry Book, 120. "ROSE CHAFER: Medium-sized,
yellowish, long-legged, hairy, clumsy beetle that eats foliage and flowers while its
larvae or grubs attack roots. Spray with carbaryl or methoxychlor; sprinkle with rose
dust every week." (207-120)
- 1981 Robert Hendrickson, The Berry Book, 120. "ROSE LEAFHOPPER: Small,
yellowish-green to brown, often spotted, wedge-shaped insects that cluster on undersides
of leaves (flying when disturbed) and suck juice from the leaves, transmitting yellows
to the plant. Spray with malathion; dust with sulfur or spray with organic pyrethrum or
rotenone." (207-120)
- 1981 Robert Hendrickson, The Berry Book, 120. "ROSE SCALE: Various sizes of round
or elongated white, brownish, or purplish waxy scale under which tiny insects live
clustered on the leaves and stems of plants. Spray with malathion; use a lime or sulfur
spray." (207-120)
STORIES
"The Rose is the honour and beauty of floures,
The Rose in the care and love of the Spring:
The Rose is the pleasure of th' heavenly Pow'rs.
The Boy of faire Venus, Cythera's Darling,
Doth wrap his head round with garlands of Rose,
When to the dances of the Graces he goes."
(From 'Anacreon Thius', an ancient Greek Poet) (387-271)
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may;
Old Time is still a flying
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying."
(Robert Herrick)
ILLUSTRATIONS
- Excellant B/W drawing of all aspects for handout (376-271)
- Excellant B/W of R. Gymnocarpa (385-178)
- Excellant B/W of R. Nutkana (385-178)
- Excellant B/W of open hip (35-8)
- Excellant B/W of all 5 B.C. species (35-145)
- Excellant B/W of R. woodsii (305-177)
- Excellant B/W of R. nutkana (198-93)
- Excellant colour drawing of R. canina (372-164)
- Use this b/w picture of hips (98-85)
<<WARNING>>
The information in these articles is primarily for reference and education. They are not
intended to be a substitute for the advice of a physician. The instructor does not advocate
self-diagnosis or self-medication; He urges anyone with continuing symptoms, however minor, to
seek medical advice. The reader should be aware that any plant substance, whether used as food
or medicine, externally or internally, may cause an allergic reaction in some people.
Maurice L.B. Oates Jr., M.A.
(Ya'-ga-hlo'o)
BOOKS NOT CHECKED OFF
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113 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 129 130 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
142 143 145 147 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168
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INDEX