Wild Prairie Rose
(Rosa pratincola)
Adopted on May 5, 1897.
The Iowa Legislature designated the
Wild Rose, Rosa pratincola, as
the official state flower in 1897. It
was chosen for the honor because it was
one of the decorations used on the
silver service which the state presented
to the battleship USS Iowa that same
year. Although no particular species of
the flower was designated by the
Legislature, the Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa
Pratincola) is most often cited as the
official flower.
Wild roses are found throughout the state and bloom from June through
late summer. The flower, in varying
shades of pink, is set off by many
yellow stamens in the center.
- Shrub with erect stems to
1.5 ft (45 cm) tall.
- Twigs red-brown with many
straight spines and bristles.
- Leaves alternate,
pinnately compound, 5-9 leaflets;
leaflets elliptic, 1.6-6.4 cm
(0.6-2.5) inches in length;
glabrous, lustrous above, soft
pubescent beneath; acute at base and
apex; margins coarsely toothed;
petiole glabrous or somewhat
pubescent; stipules adnate, 1-2.5 cm
(0.4-1 in) in length, margins
entire; rachis glabrous or somewhat
pubescent.
- Inflorescence a corymb,
peduncles glabrous, flowers 2-4,
2.5-5 cm (1-2 in) in diameter;
sepals 5, lanceolate, 1-1.2 cm
(3/8-5/8 in) long; petals 5, white,
obcordate; styles not exserted, but
persistent; stamens numerous;
flowers appear from May to August.
- Fruit a hip, 12-15 mm
(1/2-3/5 in) diameter, subglobose to
ellipsoid, sepals ascending, red;
nutlets flattened on one side, light
tan, tuft of hairs at the base;
fruits mature late August.
- Habitat: prairies,
woodland margin and disturbed areas.
- Medicinal uses: The
Omahas steeped wild prairie rose
hips and roots to treat inflammation
of the eye. The Pawnees collected
leaf galls which were crushed and
applied to burns.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta --
Vascular plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta -- Seed
plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta --
Flowering plants |
Class |
Magnoliopsida --
Dicotyledons |
Subclass |
Rosidae – |
Order |
Rosales – |
Family |
Rosaceae – Rose family |
Genus |
Rosa L. – rose |
Species |
Rosa arkansana Porter –
prairie rose
Rosa pratincola Greene – SYM |
|