A rose is a perennial flowering shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family rosaceae, that contains over 100 species. The species form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp thorns. Most are native to Asia, with smaller numbers of species native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. Natives, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and fragrance. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/509710/rose]

The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound, with sharply toothed oval shaped leaflets. The plants fleshy edible fruit is called a rose hip. Plants range in size from tiny miniature roses to climbers that can reach 20 metres. Species from different parts of the world easily hybridize, giving rise to the many types of garden roses.

The name originates from Latin rosa, borrowed through Oscan from colonial Greek in southern Italy: rhodon (Aeolic form: wrodon), from Aramaic wurrd?, from Assyrian wurtinnu, from Old Iranian *warda (cf. Armenian vard, Avestan warda, Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr).[http://www.rose-bushes.com/about/][http://www.iranica.com/articles/v11f1/v11f1033.html]

Attar of rose is the steam-extracted essential oil from rose flowers that has been used in perfumes for centuries. Rose water, made from the rose oil, is widely used in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Rose hips are sometimes made into jam, jelly and marmalade or brewed for tea, mainly for their vitamin C content. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used to produce an oil used in skin products.

Rosa acicularis (syn. R. alpina, R. bourgeauiana, R. gmelinii, R. karelica, R. sayi), also known as the prickly wild rose, the prickly rose, the bristly rose and the Arctic rose, is a species of wild rose with a Holarctic distribution in northern regions of AsiaFlora of China: Rosa acicularis, EuropeFlora Europaea: Rosa acicularis, and North America.

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1-3 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, 7-14 cm long, with three to seven leaflets. The flowers are pink (rarely white), 3.5-5 cm diameter; the hips are red, pear-shaped to ovoid, 10-15 mm diameter.

It is the official flower of the Canadian province of Alberta[http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/all_about_us/emblems/Emblems_Booklet_2005.pdf Government of Alberta's official emblems], and is located throughout the province and Western Canada. This species is not as common in this region as Rosa woodsii (Woods rose).

Category: Image - :TH prickly wild rose.JPG|thumb|150px|left|Photo of a young flower

Mister Lincoln is a large flowered (hybrid tea) bush rose introduced in 1964. (AARS 1965). This tall red rose is renowned for its strong fragrance (in still air it can be detected up to 10 feet away) and its deep, uniform red color. It grows to about 1.2 metres high and 1 metre across. The leaves are matt dark green. The buds are deep red and open up into large, velvety red, double blossoms. It has typically around 30 to 35 petals per flower. It is a vigorous plant that performs well in all climates.

Rosa banksiae, commonly referred to as the Lady Banks' Rose, is a species of Rosa native to central and western China, in the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Yunnan; it grows in mountains at altitudes of 500-2200 m.

It is a scrambling shrubby liana growing vigorously over other shrubs to 6 m tall. Unlike most roses, it is practically thornless, though may bear some prickles up to 5 mm long, particularly on stout, strong shoots. The leaves are evergreen, 4-6 cm long, with three to five (rarely seven) leaflets 2-5 cm long with a serrated margin. The flowers are small, 1.5-2.5 cm diameter, white or pale yellow.

There are two varieties:

*Rosa banksiae var. banksiae. Flowers semi-double or double, with numerous petals replacing most or all of the stamens; a cultigen developed in Chinese gardens.

*Rosa banksiae var. normalis Regel. Flowers single, with five petals; the natural wild form of the species.

The rose is named after Lady Banks, the wife of the eminent botanist Sir Joseph Banks (after whom the Banks Peninsula is named).

Blue roses were traditionally created by dyeing white roses, since roses lack a gene to produce delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces true blue flowers. So-called "blue roses" have been bred by conventional hybridization methods, but the results, such as "Blue Moon" are more accurately described as lilac in color. However, after thirteen years of joint research by an Australian company Florigene, and Japanese company Suntory, a blue rose was created in 2004 using genetic engineering. The delphinidin gene was cloned from the petunia and inserted into a mauve-blend rose, the Old Garden Rose 'Cardinal de Richelieu' (a Rosa gallica). However, since the pigment cyanidin was still present, the rose was more dark burgundy than true blue. Further work on the rose using RNAi technology to depress the production of cyanidin produced a mauve colored flower, with only trace amounts of cyanidin.

Blue roses traditionally signify mystery or attaining the impossible. They are believed to be able to grant the owner youth or grant wishes. This symbolism derives from the rose's meaning in the language of flowers common in Victorian times.

Suntory Ltd. is presently growing test batches of the genetically-modified blue roses in the United States and Australia, according to company spokesman Atsuhito Osaka, but plans to start marketing them in Japan in 2009.News Release

Rosa × centifolia (lit. hundred leaved/petaled rose; syn. R. gallica var. centifolia (L.) Regel), the provence rose or cabbage rose or Rose de Mai is a hybrid rose developed by Dutch rose breeders in the period between the 1600s and the 1800s, possibly earlier. It is a complex hybrid bred from Rosa gallica, Rosa moschata, Rosa canina, and Rosa damascena (Huxley 1992); its exact hereditary history is not well documented.

Individual plants are shrubby in appearance, growing to 1.5-2 m tall, with long drooping canes and greyish green pinnate leaves with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are round and globular, with numerous thin overlapping petals that are highly scented; they are usually pink, less often white to dark red-purple.

Rosa chinensis, known commonly as the China Rose is a member of the genus Rosa native to central China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan.

It is a shrub growing to 1-2 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, with 3-5 leaflets, each leaflet 2.5?6 cm long and 1?3 cm broad. In the wild species (sometimes listed as Rosa chinensis var. spontanea), the flowers have five pink to red petals. The fruit is a red hip 1-2 cm diameter.