''Rosa banksiae'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s Lady Banks' rose, or just Banks' rose, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the rose

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to central and western China, in the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Yunnan, at altitudes of . The rose is named for Dorothea Lady Banks, the wife of the botanist

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...

Description

It is a scrambling

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

growing vigorously to tall. Unlike most roses, it is practically thornless, though it may bear some prickles up to 5 mm long, particularly on stout, strong shoots. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

, 4–6 cm long, with three to five (rarely seven) leaflets 2–5 cm long with a serrated margin. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are small, 1.5–2.5 cm diameter, white or pale yellow and are fragrant. It is amongst the earliest flowering of all roses, usually appearing during May in the northern hemisphere, though cold weather can delay flowering. All Lady Banks' roses are said to smell of

violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...

to varying degrees.

Taxonomy

"R. banksiae" was first described and published by W. T. Aiton in ' Hortus kew.' edition 2, Vol.3 on page 258 in 1811. Some places attribute Robert Brown as the author but it was agreed in 2018 by ICN that W. T. Aiton was the true author.

Cultivation and uses

Lady Banks Rose (Rosa Banksiae) - The leaves of this plant are said to possess qualities useful in the treatment of wounds and the promotion of tissue formation. The plant is also rich in tannins which are used medicinally as astringents. ''Rosa banksiae'' has likely been grown in the gardens of China for hundreds of years. The species was introduced to Europe by William Kerr, who had been sent on a plant-hunting expedition by Sir Joseph Banks. He bought the first Lady Banks' Rose, subsequently named the white Lady Banks (''R. banksiae'' var. ''banksiae'') from the famous Fa Tee nursery in 1807.Graham Murphy A number of other forms were subsequently discovered growing in China, including ''R. banksiae'' var. ''normalis'' (see above), and ''R. banksiae'' 'Lutea', the yellow Lady Banks' rose (brought to Europe in 1824 by J. D. Parks). In 1993 this

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

earned the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It is used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

, with portions of other plants and herbs (such as

monkshood ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. ...

and ''

Ligusticum wallichii ''Ligusticum striatum'' (syn. ''L. wallichii'') is a flowering plant native to India, Kashmir, and Nepal in the carrot family best known for its use in traditional Chinese medicine where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It is k ...

'') to make a

liniment Liniment (from la, linere, meaning "to anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; still other ...

to treat a painful swelling of the joints. An ''R. banksiae'' planted in

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew si ...

in 1885 is reputedly the world's largest rose bush. It covers up to of the roof on an inn, and has a circumference trunk.

Varieties

There are two

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

: *''R. banksiae'' var. ''banksiae'' – flowers semi-double or double, with numerous petals replacing most or all of the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s; a

cultigen A cultigen () or cultivated plant is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection. These plants, for the most part, have commercial value in horticulture, agriculture or forestry. Beca ...

developed in Chinese gardens *''R. banksiae'' var. ''normalis'' – flowers single, with five petals; the natural wild form of the species

Gallery

File:LadyBanksRoseInBloom.png, Lady Banks' Rose in full bloom. Henderson, Nevada, USA File:Banksia rose, by J. A. Palmer.jpg, Banksia rose, by J. A. Palmer File:050327mokkoubara_D1.jpg, Buds in early spring File:Rosa_banksiae.jpg, Rosa banksiae var. "Banksiae" File:Rosa_banksiae_var._normalis_(2346167841).jpg, Rosa banksiae var. "Normalis" File:Lady banks rose.jpg, Flower closeup File:Rosa_banksiae_%27Lutea%27.jpg, Rosa banksiae var. 'lutea' in the Rose Garden of the

Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

File:Rosa banksiae 'Lutea', Lady Banks' rose at Myddelton House, Enfield, London 01.jpg, Trailing towards a window File:Rosa banksiae-3-mornis-yercaud-salem-India.jpg, Bushy setting

References

Other sources

*''Climbing Roses of the World'' by Charles Quest-Ritson *''The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book'' by Graham Stuart Thomas {{Taxonbar, from=Q140415 banksiae Flora of China Flora of Asia Ornamental plants