Beach Rose
How To ID Me And What I’m Good For?
My ID Features:
Flowers
Leaves
Hips (Fruit/Seed pod)
Beach Rose
Latin Name - Rosa Rugosa.
Common Names - Rugosa Rose, Beach Rose, Japanese Rose, Ramanas Rose, Letchberry.
Family - Rosaceae.
Season - Summer & Autumn.
Edible bits - Leaves, flowers & hips.
Habitat - Growing wild amongst coastal habitats. But we quite often see it amongst gardens inland too.
Possible Confusion - Other members of the rose family. Although all are regarded as edible.
Description - The best of all wild rose petals in our opinion. They are massively fragrant and produce large hips later in the season.
The hips are large, bristly & full of seeds. They are more fiddly than say perhaps, Dog Roses [Rosa Canina], which are perfect. Though the flesh if the rosehip taste a little of cranberries and is worth the effort of deseeding them and removing hairs, if you are patient. The fruits are best harvested after the first frost, which makes them turn bright red and slightly soft. Rose hips can be used in syrups, puddings, marmalade, tarts, breads, and pie, or made into a jam or jelly. We used to use them in a lovely Jus which was the perfect sweetness for duck dishes.
Physical Characteristics - Rosa rugosa is a shrub which forms dense thickets. Growing to 1 – 2 meters tall with stems densely covered prickles (3–10 mm long).
The leaves are 8–15 cm long, pinnate (arranged on either side of the stem) with 5–9 leaflets, each leaflet 3–4 cm long, with a distinctly corrugated surface. The leaf is elliptical in shape with a rounded base or broadly cuneate with a leather feel and dark green top. The back of the leaf is composed of a green-grey colour with hair along the veins. The leaf edge is composed of teeth along the edges.
The flower has five petals that are usually 6–9 cm in width. The flower is composed of 200–250 stamens per flower and vary in style. The flowers are pleasantly scented, dark pink to white and6–9 cm across.
The hips which resemble cherry tomatoes, are large, 2–3 cm diameter, and often shorter than their diameter. They’re rounded unlike other elongated hips of other roses. In late summer and early autumn the plants often bear fruit and flowers at the same time.
Medicinal Qualities - Rose hips have high content of Vitamin C which helps to prevent and treat flu & colds. Though, the vitamin C found in Rose hips is destroyed during drying and processing. It is also an antioxidant.
Harvesting Sustainability - Many birds and insects enjoy rosehips. So be kind and leave some for nature to enjoy!
Important note - It is worth noting that Oxeye is sometimes growing close to the ground. So make sure you pick away from dog walkers & pollutants.
Never munch on a hunch! Volf takes no responsibility for anything consumed.
Now For The Tasty Bit!
Here Are Our Delicious Recipes Using Rose's…
