Latin name: Rosa rugosa
Common names: beach rose, wrinkled rose, Asian beach rose, seaside rose, coastal rose
Seasons: Spring (flowers), late summer and fall (fruit/hips)
Edible: Yes, fruit and flower petals (but not seeds)
Medicinal: Immune support, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging
Nutritional: Vitamin C, A, E, K, B 1-3, polyphenols
Identification difficulty: Beginner
Roses are one of humankind's oldest plant allies and their use is also among the most widespread. Ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Persians used parts of roses as topical and internal medicine and even as offerings to royalty or the Gods, starting as much as 5000 years ago. And when it comes to rose hips--the fruit of the rose (more on that later)--they were consumed as a food by prehistoric people of all temperate climates, dating back at least 10,000 years. Roses are still being used as a food today, albeit in a much-reduced fashion, primarily as an ingredient in herbal teas.
And when we get to the greater rose family (Rosaceae), many of our planet's most valuable food crops are members. Did you know that apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches, blackberries, raspberries, juneberries, and even almonds are all part of the greater rose family? Well, now you do!
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| Beach rose bud |
Beach rose quick history
The beach rose, Rosa rugosa, is unlike any other rose species you'll encounter in North America. That's because the beach rose isn't from around here. Native to Japan and China, the beach rose was imported to America in the early 1900s (perhaps as early as 1908), to combat erosion along our Atlantic coastline. Possibly introduced broadly to the States in either the 1858 or 1874 World's Fairs (both held in Philadelphia), this plant would be imported wholesale as an erosion solution during the 1920s. Many will argue that beach rose has become "invasive", but I would claim that to be a misunderstanding in the United States, at least. (I don't know enough about other countries to say one way or another for them). Beach rose was heavily planted as erosion control along the coasts of New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, down as far as Virginia, and up into Canada in Quebec, New Foundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. Further, it was planted as an ornamental in Ontario, Canada, and the northern mid-west and great lakes states of the U.S.A.
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| Beach rose forms dense mats on coastal sand dunes, earning a reputation as an invasive species |
As an invasive species
Beach rose has gotten a lot of bad rap in the past few decades (since around the late 1980s) as an invasive species. Today it can be found throughout Europe, the above-mentioned parts of North America, Central America, northern South America, and much of S.E. Asia. For this reason, it's considered invasive in many U.S. states. But here's the thing: I grew up in New York, New Jersey and many states in New England, where beach rose is often planted as an ornamental plant, and I've only ever seen it become a monoculture in unnatural, man-made or man-influenced environment.
Not only have I never seen it spreading uncontrollably out of people's gardens, I've never seen it in the wild, outside of sand dunes. While sand dunes are natural, the dunes of New England are highly human-influenced and maintained by dumping non-native sands to preserve the beaches that are so crucial for tourism. (For what it's worth, I have no issue with man-made beach interference, but I do think it needs to be mentioned. In fact, beach rose is considered endangered in its native country of China--which doesn't imply invasive behavior.
Identifying beach rose
Ok, coming down off my soapbox, let's get to what I'm sure y'all are here for: How to identify beach roses and how to use them in the kitchen or as medicine. The good news is that beach rose is arguably the very easiest rose species to identify.
Beach rose distribution, environment and growth patterns
Beach roses are found in the New England and Mid-Atlantic states south to Virginia and west to Missouri, and north into the eastern Canadian provinces, west to Ontario. It can also be found in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and northern California. It's spread broadly throughout South and Central America in recent years, including Mexico, Cuba, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Boliva, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela, among others.
Rosa rugosa can grow in many environments, including both acidic and alkaline soils, in full sun to partial shade, inland or costal (it can survive salt spray), and in nutrient-rich or nutrient-poor soils. It can only survive in moderate temperatures but can survive in lower moisture environments--not in semi-arid or deserts though.
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| On sandy soil, beach rose grows low and dense, like a ground cover |
Where the soil is rich, water is plentiful, and sunlight is dappled, it will grow into an impressive bush, as much as 6' high and over 10' wide, though about half that is more common. When the soil is poor, sandy or loamy, the available moisture is rich with salt, winds are strong, and sun is bright and there's no shade, beach rose grows low to the ground (rarely more than 18" high), and spreads into dense matts of overlapping plants.
Leaf, thorn and stem features
The stems of beach rose are green and bendable for generally about the first year. They also don't develop thorns until after the first year. As the stems age they become a brown/red shade, then brown/grey and eventually a charcoal grey. The thorns also become denser. Unlike the hooked or curved thorns of cultivated roses, beach rose thorns are straight or conical. The thorns grow from all sides of the stem.
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| Thorn features |
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| Oddly pinnately compound leaves (9 leaflets for this example) |
Beach roses have oddly pinnately compound leaves that have 5 to 9 leaflets, with the overwhelming majority being 7. Compound leaves mean that the leaf is actually made up of multiple "leaflets" that might each appear to be individual leaves. Oddly compound leaves feature parallel pairs and one extra leaflet that sticks out at the end, opposite the leaf stalk.
Unlike the leaves for cultivated roses, tea roses and native wild roses, which appear basically flat, smooth and glossy, the veins on beach rose leaflets are deeply creased, creating a textured, almost crinkled effect for the whole leaf. Beach rose leaflets are lime green when young or old and dark olive when mature and healthy. Leaflets do NOT have thorns on their back or the back of their veins. As with all roses, beach rose leaflets have serrated edges.
Flower, fruit and seed features
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| White variant |
Beach rose flowers range from white to deep magenta, even burgundy, but are most commonly a mid-tone bubble gum or "Barbie" pink. There are also specially bred, cultivated variations that are red, baby pink or even yellow. Flowers can grow individually but are more often found in clusters. The bloom is around 2" in diameter. Wild varieties generally have 5 thin, fragile petals but often loose some to strong coastal winds. Cultivated varieties often have more petals or even double rows of petals; wild and cultivated varieties might hybridize, so it's not unheard of to find 7-10 petal variants in the "wild". The petals surround a circular cluster of bright yellow stamens and feature a deep central crease that ends in either a point that sticks out past the main edge of the petal or a notch that dips into it. The flower calyxes are unobtrusively smaller than the blooms.
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| Fruit ripening progression |
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| Fully ripe rose hip fruits |
The fruits, called hips, start out hard and green, then yellow and slowly ripen to orange, dappled red and eventually fully red and waxy looking or even almost translucent. They generally aren't truly ripe until they are red and soft, though you can also ripen them off the plant. While the hips of native and cultivated roses are smaller than a pea, beach roses have large, fleshy fruits that are much easier to harvest and process. Each is generally around the diameter of a nickel to a quarter (3/4 to 1.25") at its widest point. Some plants have fruit that's wide than long and sometimes it's the opposite. The sepals form an elongated "crown" on the bottom of each fruit, away from the stem. The crown starts out as light green and soft but will turn brown and eventually dried out when the fruit ripens. The crown is essential for safe identification.
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| The sepals that form an elongated "crown" or perhaps tentacles that come out of the bottom of the fruit are essential for identification. |
Beach roses flower from mid spring to mid summer and start fruiting from late spring onward, so you can often expect to find plants with both flowers and fruits simultaneously, helping to aid your identification.
Look-a-like plants
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| Small fruit of the common wild rose, Rosa virginiana |
Here are the key things to look out for to ensure you are ruling out potentially dangerous plants:
- Thorns on the stems but not on leaves
- Leaves are oddly pinnately compound
- Fruit has a bottom "crown" of elongated sepals
- 2" diameter blooms with a single row of 5-petals surrounding yellow sepals
