''Rosa virginiana'', commonly known as the Virginia rose, common wild rose or prairie rose, is a woody perennial in the

rose family Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

native to eastern North America, where it is the most common wild rose. It is

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

, forming a

suckering Basal shoots, root sprouts, adventitious shoots, and suckers are words for various kinds of shoots that grow from adventitious buds on the base of a tree or shrub, or from adventitious buds on its roots. Shoots that grow from buds on the base o ...

shrub up to 2 metres in height, though often less. The stems are covered in numerous hooked prickles. The leaves are

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

, usually with between 7 and 9 glossy leaflets. The pink flowers are borne singly or in small clusters and appear over a long period in midsummer. The fruits are small, round and bright red, 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) ...

and edible, being both used to make jams and tea. It grows in clearings, thickets, and shores. The plant attracts birds, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Charles and Bridget Quest-Ritson describe ''R. virginiana'' as "the best all-rounder among the wild roses", and draw attention to its leaf coloration in the fall: "the whole plant turns yellow, orange, scarlet, crimson and brown for weeks on end". In cultivation, this plant has gained 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 (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

References

virginiana Flora of the Eastern United States Bird food plants Least concern flora of the United States Taxa named by Philip Miller {{Rosa-stub