Family: Rosaceae
Carolina rose, pasture rose
Merel R. Black
Botanical Illustration
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Rosa: ancient Latin name whose meaning has been lost
Plants: erect, perennial, 1/2'-4' tall, clone-forming shrub usually unbranched or with only a few branches; stems with straight, slender, rounded thorns near the nodes
Leaves: pinnately-divided with 3-7 oblong to rounded, coarsely toothed leaflets
Flowers: white to pink, 5-parted, 1 1/2"-2 1/3" wide, on this year's stems, the sepals deciduous; flowers solitary; blooms June-July
Fruits: red, smooth, berry-like hips
Habitat: full sun; dry to moderate moisture; upland woods, prairies, inland sands, roadsides; in sandy, loamy soil
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: erect, perennial, 1/2'-4' tall, clone-forming shrub usually unbranched or with only a few branches; stems with straight, slender, rounded thorns near the nodes
Leaves: pinnately-divided with 3-7 oblong to rounded, coarsely toothed leaflets
Flowers: white to pink, 5-parted, 1 1/2"-2 1/3" wide, on this year's stems, the sepals deciduous; flowers solitary; blooms June-July
Fruits: red, smooth, berry-like hips
Habitat: full sun; dry to moderate moisture; upland woods, prairies, inland sands, roadsides; in sandy, loamy soil
Conservation Status: Native
Woods of oak-pine, oak-maple, maple, oak-hickory, oak-black cherry-aspen, white pine; pine barrens, oak barrens, Great Lakes dunes, fields and thickets, lakeshores, riverflats, along roadsides and railroads, roadcuts, prairies, bluffs and ledges, rock outcrops, sedge meadows, open hillsides. This species hybridizes with R. arkansana, producing fertile hybrid swarms. Carolina rose ranges across southern and central Wisconsin, northwestward to the Minnesota border; it is absent from most of the northern half of the state.
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 4, Wetland Indicator = FACU- Atlas of the Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora: by T.S. Cochrane & H.H. Iltis: habitat, distribution infomation / flowering and fruiting times USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc. Dan Tenaglia's The Missouri Flora: Fabulous photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leave arrangement key. Illinois Wildflowers: Wonderful photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leaf arrangement key
Merel R. Black
Botanical Illustration
Kitty Kohout
