The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the

accessory fruit An accessory fruit is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the floral ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel.Esau, K. 1977. ''Anatomy of seed plants''. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Accessory fruits are ...

of the various species of

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can b ...

plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

of flowers in spring or early summer, and ripen in late summer through autumn.

Propagation

Roses are propagated from rose hips by removing the achenes that contain the seeds from the

hypanthium In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

(the outer coating) and sowing just beneath the surface of the soil. The seeds can take many months to germinate. Most species require chilling ( stratification), with some such as '' Rosa canina'' only germinating after two winter chill periods.

Use

Rose hips are used in bread and pies, jam, jelly, marmalade, syrup,

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

, tea,

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

, and other

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...

s. Rose hips can be eaten raw, like berries, if care is taken to avoid the hairs inside the fruit. The hairs are used as itching powder. A few rose species are sometimes grown for the ornamental value of their hips, such as '' Rosa moyesii'', which has prominent, large, red bottle-shaped fruits. '' Rosa macrophylla'' 'Master Hugh' has the largest hips of any readily available rose. Rose hips are commonly used in herbal tea, often blended with

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), gras ...

. An oil is also extracted from the seeds. Rose hip soup, known as in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, is especially popular in Sweden. Rhodomel, a type of

mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining chara ...

, is made with rose hips. Rose hips can be used to make , the traditional Hungarian fruit brandy popular in Hungary, Romania, and other countries sharing Austro-Hungarian history. Rose hips are also the central ingredient of cockta, the fruity-tasting national soft drink of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. Dried rose hips are also sold for crafts and home fragrance purposes. The Inupiat mix rose hips with wild redcurrant and highbush cranberries and boil them into a syrup.

Nutrients and phytochemicals

Wild rose hip fruits are particularly rich in

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) a ...

, containing 426 mg per 100 g or 0.4% by weight (w/w). However, RP-HPLC assays of fresh rose hips and several commercially available products revealed a wide range of L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content, ranging from 0.03 to 1.3%. Rose hips contain the

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, cor ...

s beta-carotene,

lutein Lutein (;"Lutein"

zeaxanthin Zeaxanthin is one of the most common carotenoids in nature, and is used in the xanthophyll cycle. Synthesized in plants and some micro-organisms, it is the pigment that gives paprika (made from bell peppers), corn, saffron, goji (wolfberries), ...

and

lycopene Lycopene is an organic compound classified as a tetraterpene and a carotene. Lycopene (from the neo-Latin '' Lycopersicum'', the tomato species) is a bright red carotenoid hydrocarbon found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables. Occ ...

, which are under basic research for a variety of potential biological roles. A

meta-analysis A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting m ...

of human studies examining the potential for rose hip extracts to reduce arthritis pain concluded there was a small effect requiring further analysis of safety and efficacy in clinical trials. Use of rose hips is not considered an effective treatment for knee

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Fruit morphology Herbal tea Roses Food ingredients

Propagation

Use

Nutrients and phytochemicals

See also

References

External links