Summary ³

Rosa blanda, commonly known as the smooth rose, meadow/wild rose, or prairie rose, is a species of rose native to North America. Among roses, it is closest to come to a "thornless" rose, with just a few thorns at the base. The meadow rose occurs as a colony-forming shrub growing to 1 m (3.3 ft) high, naturally in prairies and meadows.

Description ⁴

Family:
Rosaceae (Rose)

Height:
4 to 7 feet

Habit:
Multi-stemmed shrub; Thicket forming, spreading by rhizomes

Leaves:
Leaves are compound, with alternately attached groupings of 5-9 leaflets. Individual leaflets (up to 1½” long and 1” wide) are obovate in shape with serrated edges. Main leaf stalks appear winged at their base.

Bark:
Young bark is smooth and green, becoming woody and reddish-brown to purplish, and eventually rough and gray, with age. Unlike many other species in the Rosa genus, the upper stems of Rosa blanda are generally thornless, while its lower stems are covered in scattered thorns.

Flower:
Pink to pinkish-red flowers (up to 3” across) grow in groups of 1-4 from the tips of branches. Flowers have yellow centers and 5 rounded petals with wavy edges.

Fruit:
Fruits, known as rose hips, are berry-like and up to ¾” across, beginning green in color and turning bright red in the late summer.

Bloom time:
June-July

Nicknames:
Smooth Rose, Meadow Rose

Habitat:
Smooth wild rose prefers full to partial sun, and dry to well-drained, rocky, clay, sand, or loamy soils. It can thrive in nutrient-poor soils, and is commonly found in prairies, woodland edges, open woodlands, thickets, shorelines, and along fence rows and roadsides.

Wildlife Benefits:
Flowers are attractive to bees and other pollinators. Rose hips are a winter food source for many species of birds and mammals.

Notes:
This species may spread aggressively via rhizomes if given adequate space. It is also resistant to damage by deer browsing.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/smooth-wild-rose
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/flower_insects/plants/sm_rose.htm
https://www.prairiemoon.com/rosa-blanda-early-wild-rose-prairie-moon-nursery.html
https://www.prairienursery.com/meadow-rose-rosa-blanda.html

Range ⁴

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Kerry Woods, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/93854456@N03/11422274605/
2. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
3. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_blanda
4. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

iNat Map