Two weeks ago I spoke of the sub-genera Hulthemia and the one rose which fitted this section – r. persica – and after more than 200 years the breeding programs which produced, amongst others, Eyes for You.
Today, I’ll take you on a short journey to another sub-genera – Platyrhodon. Platyrhodon means ‘flaky bark’ in Greek
The interesting thing about all the sub-genera is that the roses classified therein are far from your average rose. Platyrhodon is no different. There are only three forms in the section – rosa roxburghii, rosa roxburghii normalis and rosa roxburghii plena. The first two are wild or species roses, while the third, rosa roxburghii plena has been a cultivated rose in China for centuries and is known as ‘hoi-tong-hong’. None of plant growths look like the roses we are used to and the only real difference between the forms is the flower – two singles, one white, one pink, and a double pink.
rosa roxburghii is also known as Burr rose; Chinquapin Rose; or The Chestnut Rose. It is unique in many ways. The pink, single flowers open from peculiar mossy buds at irregular intervals throughout the Spring, Summer and Autumn. Then the hips form. These are bristly and globular, resembling chestnut burrs. The canes are pale and brown with flaky bark, and the ferny looking leaves are divided into many small leaflets – as many as 15. Have a look also at the peculiar thorn presentation, where two thorns, side by side, protect the new cane growth.
William Roxburgh was the assistant surgeon to the East India Company when he came across a plant of rosa roxburghii plena in a garden in Canton in the early 1800s. He sent it to the Botanic Gardens in Calcutta and it eventually found its way to England in 1820. At that time the Opium Wars were on and foreigners were excluded from the interior of China, so the wild forms were not “discovered” until the late 1800s.
The hips have been distilled and used as an anti-oxidant. They are edible and I am told that they have a sweet/sour taste. I am also told that they are used to ferment wine.
rosa roxburghii has not been used for any breeding program that I am aware of, nor does it appear to have cross-bred, so it remains true to type even after all these years. It is a fascinating plant and well worth a short walk to the Heritage Border to see our specimen of r. roxburghii plena.
