Types of Roses

In fact, the rose family (Rosaceae) consists of some one hundred different genera of trees, plants and shrubs. It also includes popular fruits such as apples, blackberries, pears, plums, peaches, strawberries, and raspberries.

Rose identification often starts by examining flower petals, using general rose identification rules of thumb, five petals, five sepals, and ten or more stamens.

A contrast of two Rubus species (blackberry plants), Salmonberry and Thimbleberry provides a contrast of potential flower color choices.

Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) flowers bloom during early spring, adding some of the first splashes of color to a green forest background.

Their red and orange shaded berries are a local treat, served as either part of the main course with native fish and fowl or as part of the desert.

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) takes root on Western hillsides, producing white spring flowers and red, edible fruit.

Wild roses (genus Rosa) flourish around North America, with some one hundred different native and introduced species documented to date.

Late spring remains prime viewing time for Rosa blooms, which typically show shades of red, pink or purple. Like their ornamental counterparts, most grow on bushes with prickly stems.

Rosa also produce fruits, known as rose hips, long a food staple for native Americans, they continue to find a place in specialty markets.

The Rosa is a popular genus with four states designating it, in slightly different language, the state flower.

The state of Georgia, straight up, identifies the Cherokee Rose (Rosa laevigata) as its state flower.

The Iowa Legislature reports, "Although no particular species of the flower was designated by the Legislature, the Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa Pratincola) is most often cited as the official flower.

North Dakota lists the Wild Prairie Rose as the official state flower and then adds, "Rosa Blanda or Arkansana has been identified as Rosa Pratincula in species." It basically means that either Rosa Blanda or Rosa Arkansana are considered Wild Prairie Roses.

The people of the state of New York may be even more relaxed in their rose identification. The legislation says, "State flower. The rose shall be the official flower of the state in any color or combination of colors common to it." Technically that could be interpreted as meaning any flower in the Rosaceae family, including those from strawberries, cherries or apples. Typically it refers to flowers in the Rosa genus.

Except for the Southwest, Spirea species (rose family) grow hardily across all of North America.

Around the home, spirea's popularity as a stand alone and boundary marking shrub continues, almost uninterrupted, from colonial days to the present. Hybrid species continue to be developed, opening the genera to a broad range of landscapes.

Spirea's long history as an easy care flowering shrub partly explains current wild growing species statistics. Thirty species grow wild in North America, split almost evenly between native and introduced species.

It sounds as if westward expansion brought settlers who relied on their previous acquaintance with Spirea as a guide for using newly discovered species and former favorites as residential foundation plants.

Bloom color varies according to species, however the typical bloom usually takes on shades of yellow, pink and white.

The showy pink flowers of the Douglas Spirea (Spiraea douglasii) make it a popular landscape plant in many areas of the Pacific Northwest.

As indicative of the picture background, the plant thrives in riparian areas.

Subalpine Spirea or Mountain Spirea (Spiraea densiflora), grows in mountain areas, especially in Western mountain meadows.

Many spirea species, including the Subalpine Spirea attract butterflies.

Flowers bloom throughout the summer, with bloom time dependent on the altitude in which the plant is growing.

The five petals frame of reference also helps with initial identification of Cinquefoil (Potentilla) species.

Most Cinquefoil species produce yellow flowers. The existence of large number of North American species, over eighty, makes identification of any specific species difficult. However, the five petals provides the first indication of a plant in the rose family.

The flowers follow the same general rule of the rose family, having five petals, five sepals, and ten or more stamens. Therefore, identification to the level of genus is often easy.

The picture shows the Slender Cinquefoil flower (Potentilla gracilis), a western species.

Avens, a small genus (Geum) of flowering plants, produce small yellow, orange or red flowers that often resemble cinquefoil.

The Largeleaf Avens (Geum macrophyllum) grows close to the ground. If often stands out because its yellow flowers grow against the green background of its large leaves.

Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis), also called osoberry, a native western deciduous , thrives in low land habitats near forested areas.

Blooms of white bells begin appearing on the branches as early as February. The flowers turn into clusters of small, seeded fruits, that attract birds, including hummingbirds.

Native Americans used its for food and medicinal purposes, however very little commercial harvesting of the fruit is undertaken today.

© 2009-2012. Patricia A. Michaels