Hi Susana

I cant remember the details, Im afraid, but think its a “half inferior” or perygynous” ovary. Maybe this article will do a better job of explaining than I can? https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com/2019/06/21/rose-reproduction/ Hope you untangle it soon, its always done my head in, ovaries.

Thanks so much for this info. I’m researching the gallica rose, ‘Violacea’ fir a botanical illustration course and am confused about information I’ve found which says it has a Superior ovary, “meaning it’s above the points where the sepals and petals attach to the flower”.
Surely it’s below the sepals and petals, as the rosehip itself (containing the ovules which eventually become the fruits) is below the sepals and petals?
Regards,
Susana

Hi Steve

THANKYOU so much for this. I write these blogs to try and understand the botany that I learn as I go along, and clarification like this is incredibly helpful. And the slight variations in the terminology and when its’ used can be deadly unless you truly know your stuff. So thankyou. I will edit and update the bloog now, thanks to your input. Much appreciated.

Hi Tudor

Your English is impeccable, and I dont think I would have noticed unless you mentioned it. I totally understand the idea of getting rosehips with less fuzz on. I’m not sure if anyone has bred roses with less of this. I do know that generally people suggest the Dog Rose Rosa canina as the bes tone for hips though, but then you know that already. Scooting around online, the only term Ive been able to find for the fuzz is “hairs” or “seed hairs” which feels unsatisfactory to me. And yes, I think there’s every likelihood that the hairs have analogous structures in other seeds, although I can'[t think what they might be. I wish I could be more help! Interesting question though. And thatnks for the comment. x

Hi Blue,

Well, that comment led to some lively debate on Twitter when I asked the community of botanists for trheir recomendations! Many were annoyed that their trusted books on roses did not, in fact, have much on rosehips species by species. I can totally understand you wanting to explore this further, the idea of giving a rose to your brothers or sisters which come from the grandparents is lovely. Especially since those memories of your youth are so happy.

The booklist I’ve conjured up is pretty UK-centric, and some fo the titles are out of print. others (like Stace) may be a bit too intense and botanical (and the stace only has 1 page of rosehip illustrations in amongst 2200+ pages of other botany identifications!)

However, for what it’s worth, here’s the list for you:

Recommendations for Books on Roses and Rosehips

Roses of Great Britain and Ireland, Graham, G and Primavesi, A. BSBI Handbook No. 7
The Heritage of the Rose, Austin, D
The Peter Beales Classic Roses, Beales, P.
Roses, Philips, R. & Rix, M.
New Flora of the British Isles, Stace, C.

Thanks for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment, and good luck identifying those roses!

X

I am so glad to be of help! It did my head in too – lots of my blogs start out as me being totally non-plussed about something botanical. Thanks for letting me know it was useful.