Rosa rugosa, fruits

- No description given -

comments (3)

Gary B

Lion

I harvested about 2 gallons of these one year from a patch growing by an abandoned dock. After removing the stems, seeds, hairs, and calyx remains I cooked them down into a syrup which I strained once more to remove any debris. Posted 6 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Nice! I've never made a syrup from them, but they are tasty raw, especially after an early frost. Interesting and useful factoid, which you may already be aware of since you double strain:
  
  The French call rose hips "gratte cul”, which means "scratching ass", and Native Americans said that they cause “itchy bottom disease". The seeds have irritating hairs, as you discovered. But, if you eat the fruit without removing the seeds, the itch travels through the digestive system...hence the common names. Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Gary B
    
    Lion
    
    Yep, knew about the itch factor. There are a lot of hairs in those fruits. All the rose hips are good after they've gotten overripe or frosted. I think it is similar to the bletting process that pears and medlars go through.
    
    Another good edible: hawthorn berries especially the black-fruited Crataegus douglasii. Better once they've gotten very soft. Posted 6 years ago

The Beach Rose

"Rosa rugosa" is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand dunes. It should not be confused with "Rosa multiflora", which is also known as "Japanese rose". The Latin word "rugosa" means "wrinkled", referring to the wrinkled leaves.

Info 16 0

Similar species: Rosales

Species identified by Lars Korb