''Rosa'' × ''damascena'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for damascene rose), more commonly known as the Damask rose, or sometimes as the Iranian Rose, Bulgarian rose, Taif rose & "Emirati rose", Ispahan rose, Castile rose, and Đulbešećerka (Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans) is a

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

hybrid, derived from '' Rosa gallica'' and '' Rosa moschata''. DNA analysis has shown that a third species, '' Rosa fedtschenkoana'', has made some genetic contributions to the Damask rose. The flowers are renowned for their fine fragrance, and are commercially harvested for

rose oil Rose oil (rose otto, attar of rose, attar of roses, or rose essence) is an essential oil that is extracted from the petals of various types of rose. ''Rose ottos'' are extracted through steam distillation, while ''rose absolutes'' are obtained t ...

(either "rose otto" or "rose absolute") used in

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

ry and to make

rose water Rose water, or rosewater, is a flavoured water created by steeping rose petals in water. It is typically made as a by-product during the distillation of rose petals to create rose oil for perfumes. Rose water is widely utilized to flavour cu ...

and "rose concrete". The flower petals are also edible. They may be used to flavor food, as a garnish, as an

herbal tea Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plai ...

, and preserved in sugar as

gulkand Gulkand (also written gulqand or gulkhand) is a sweet Fruit preserves, preserve of rose petals originating in the Indian subcontinent. The term is derived from Persian; ''gul'' (rose) and ''qand'' (sugar/sweet). Preparation Traditionally, gu ...

. It is the national flower of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 2019, Damascus rose was inscribed to the

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergove ...

as an element of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

cultural heritage.

Description

The Damask rose is a

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

growing to tall, the stems densely armed with stout, curved prickles and stiff bristles. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are pinnate, with five (rarely seven) leaflets. The roses are a light to moderate pink to light red. The relatively small flowers grow in groups. The bush has an informal shape. It is considered an important type of Old Rose, and also important for its prominent place in the pedigree of many other types.

Varieties

The hybrid is divided in two varieties: *Summer Damasks (''R.'' × ''damascena'' nothovar. ''damascena'') have a short flowering season, only in the summer. *Autumn Damasks (''R.'' × ''damascena'' nothovar. ''semperflorens'' (Duhamel) Rowley) have a longer flowering season, extending into the autumn; they are otherwise not distinguishable from the summer damasks. The hybrid ''Rosa'' × ''centifolia'' is derived in part from ''Rosa'' × ''damascena'', as are Bourbon, Portland and hybrid perpetual roses. The cultivar known as ''Rosa gallica'' forma ''trigintipetala'' or ''Rosa damascena'' 'Trigintipetala' is considered to be a synonym of ''Rosa'' × ''damascena''. 'Celsiana' is a flowering semi-double variety.

History

''Rosa'' × ''damascena'' is a cultivated flower that is not found growing wild. Recent genetic tests indicate that it is a hybrid of ''R. moschata'' x ''R. gallica'' crossed with the pollen of '' Rosa fedtschenkoana'', which indicates a probable origin in the foothills of

central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

or Iran. The French Crusader Robert de Brie, who took part in the Siege of Damascus in 1148 at the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

, is sometimes credited for bringing the Damask rose from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The name of the rose refers to the city of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, known for its steel ( Damask steel), fabrics (

Damask Damask (; ) is a woven, Reversible garment, reversible patterned Textile, fabric. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the gro ...

) and roses. Other accounts state that the

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

brought it to their colonies in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and a third account is that the physician of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

, named as Thomas Linacre, gifted him one circa 1540. Although this latter claim is of dubious veracity as Linacre died in 1524, 16 years before the introduction of the rose to the royal garden took place. There is a history of fragrance production in

Kabul Province Kabul (Dari/Pashto: ), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul city, which is Afghanistan's capital and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province is ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

from the Damask rose. An attempt has been made to restore this industry as an alternative for farmers who produce

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

. The flower, known in Hawaiian as ''Lokelani'', is the official flower of the Island of Maui. Nirad Chaudhuri, the Bengali writer, recalls that Hindus in East Bengal did not cultivate it because it was "looked upon as an Islamic flower".

Cultivation

''Rosa'' × ''damascena'' is optimally cultivated in hedge rows to help protect the blooms from wind damage and to facilitate harvesting them. In Bulgaria, damask roses are grown in long hedges, while in Turkey, individual plants are spaced apart along trenches. Gathering the flowers is intense manual labor. The harvesting period for roses is dependent on weather conditions and locations: between as long as a month in cooler conditions, or as short as 16-20 days in hotter seasons.

Rose oil

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

are the major producers of rose oil from the different

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

of ''Rosa'' × ''damascena''.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

also contribute significantly to the world market. The cultivation of the "Bulgarian rose" as ''Rosa'' × ''damascena'' has been developed since Roman times. It is cultivated for commercial use in an area in the vicinity of

Kazanlak Kazanlak ( , known as Seuthopolis () in ancient times, is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town in Stara Zagora Province, Bulgaria. It is located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, Balkan mo ...

and Karlovo in

called the "Valley of Roses". The distillate from these roses is called "Bulgarian rose oil" and "Bulgarian rose otto". While families still operate their own small distilleries and produce what is denominated "village oil", the commercialization of rose oil as a high quality product is carefully regulated by a state cooperative in the Isparta region of

. The roses are still grown by the small family farms but the flowers are brought to stills established and regulated by the cooperative for distillation and quality control.

Culinary uses

Damask roses are used in cooking as a flavouring ingredient or spice. They are an ingredient in the spice mixture denominated '' ras el hanout''.

Rose water Rose water, or rosewater, is a flavoured water created by steeping rose petals in water. It is typically made as a by-product during the distillation of rose petals to create rose oil for perfumes. Rose water is widely utilized to flavour cu ...

and powdered roses are used in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. Rose water is often sprinkled on meat dishes, while rose powder is added to sauces. Chicken with rose is a popular dish in Middle Eastern cuisine. Whole flowers, or petals, are also used in the herbal tea ''zuhurat''. The most popular use, however, is in the flavoring of desserts such as

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

, jam, Turkish delights,

rice pudding Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs. Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly c ...

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

, etc. For centuries, the Damask rose has symbolized beauty and love. The fragrance of the rose has been captured and preserved in the form of

by a method that can be traced to ancient times in the Middle East and later to the Indian subcontinent. Modern Western cookery does not use roses or rose water much. However, it was a popular ingredient in ancient times and continued to be popular well into the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. It was most commonly used in desserts, and still is a flavour in traditional desserts such as

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

or turrón. It has seen some revival in television cooking in the twenty-first century.

References

External links

* *
Gernot Katzer's Spice Dictionary - Damask RoseRosa harvesting in Meimand
Photos.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosa damascena Herbs Spices Medicinal plants Flora of Pakistan Hybrid plants damascena Taxa named by Philip Miller