Rosaceae FAMILY

Rosa gallica

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

There is a layer of hairs around the seeds just beneath the flesh of the fruit. These hairs can cause irritation to the mouth and digestive tract if ingested.

Botanical Description

Rosa gallica is a suckering, deciduous shrub producing a cluster of prickly stems; it can grow from 40 - 100cm tall[ 11 Title Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Publication Author Bean. W. Publisher Murray Year 1981 ISBN - Description A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It has been grown in the past for medicinal use, is cultivated for its essential oil in Eastern Europe[ 100 Title Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Publication Author Polunin. O. Publisher Oxford University Press Year 1969 ISBN 0192176218 Description An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses. ], and is often grown as an ornamental.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeEurope - Germany and France, east to Romania, Bulgaria and Greece; eastern European Russia, the Caucasus, Turkey and Iraq.

HabitatHedges and woods, usually on calcareous soils[ 100 Title Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Publication Author Polunin. O. Publisher Oxford University Press Year 1969 ISBN 0192176218 Description An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses. ]. Open broad -leaved forests, shrubby formations, roadsides and forest edges, open slopes[ 74 Title Flora of the USSR. Publication Author Komarov. V. L. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Israel Program for Scientific Translation Year 1968 ISBN - Description An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ].