E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Rosa acicularis subsp. sayi Lindl. (Schwein.) W.H. Lewis
prickly rose
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

Map

Distribution of Rosa acicularis subsp. sayi
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Low to medium shrub, 0.3 to 1.5 m tall, spreading by extensive rhizomes, sometimes forming thickets; stems spindly to stout, erect to arching, usually covered with numerous straight, bristly prickles of various sizes, but twigs of the year often not prickly; mature stems reddish- to greyish-brown.

Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, odd-pinnately compound, the axis usually hairy and glandular; leaflets usually 5 or 7, oblong-elliptic, 2-5 cm long, coarsely double-toothed, the teeth often gland-tipped, more or less rounded at the base, usually somewhat hairy on the underside; stipules hairy, glandular on the margins.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of usually single, occasionally 2 or 3, stalked flowers on lateral branchlets; corollas pink, saucer-shaped, (4) 5-7 cm across, the petals 5, 2-3 cm long; calyces smooth, 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, long-tapering and narrowing then flaring below the tip, persistent, becoming erect and converging in fruit; ovaries superior but enclosed in the urn-shaped floral tube (hypanthium); stamens numerous.

Fruits:
Achenes, 15 to 25, stiffly long-hairy on one side or towards the tip, enclosed by the fleshy hypanthium, which ripens into a scarlet to purplish, globe- to pear-shaped or ellipsoid hip 1-2 cm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Rosa acicularis ssp. sayi

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Avg	Min	Max
Elevation (metres)	1327	1323	1331
Slope Gradient (%)	45	31	60
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	137	103	173
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	2	2	2
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	B
# of field plots species was recorded in:	2
Modal BEC Zone Class	SWB
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in	SWB(2)
Source: Klinkenberg 2013

Habitat and Range

Dry to moist open forests, thickets, open rocky or grassy slopes, river terraces, streambanks and clearings in the lowland to subalpine zones; common throughout BC, east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; circumboreal, N to AK, E to PQ and S to NY, MN, CO and NM; Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Rosa acicularis var. bourgeauiana (Crép.) Crép.
Rosa acicularis var. sayana Erlanson
Rosa bourgeauiana Crép.
Rosa collaris Rydb.
Rosa engelmannii S. Watson
Rosa sayi Schwein.

Taxonomic Keys

KEY TO ROSA

1. Stipules deeply fringed or comb-like; inflorescence multiflowered..........R. multiflora
1. Stipules entire to coarsely toothed; inflorescence single to several-flowered.

1a. Prickles strongly curved, stout; calyx-lobes often with conspicuous lateral segments and usually reflexed after flowering.

2. Lower surface of leaflets stalked-glandular..............R. eglanteria
2. Lower surface of leaves not stalked-glandular (sometimes a few glands along leaf axis or midrib of leaflets)..................R. canina

1a. Prickles not or slightly curved, often slender; calyx-lobes usually without lateral segments, usually ascending or erect after flowering.

3. Calyx-lobes deciduous in fruit, 12 mm long or less; petals 15 mm long or less...............R. gymnocarpa
3. Calyx-lobes persistent in fruit, greater than 12 mm long; petals greater than 15 mm long.

4. Stems with well-defined infrastipular prickles (pair of prickles at or just below each node) or nearly unarmed.

5. Calyx-lobes usually glandular-bristly; leaflets finely toothed; plants from west of the Coast-Cascade Mountains............R. pisocarpa
5. Calyx-lobes usually not glandular-bristly; leaflets coarsely toothed.

6. Flowers small and clustered; calyx-lobes mostly 1-2 cm long and 2-3.5 mm wide at base; petals 1.2-2.5 cm long................R. woodsii
6. Flowers large and usually solitary; calyx-lobes mostly 1.5-4 cm long and 3-6 mm wide at base; petals 2.5-4 cm long.....................R. nutkana

4. Stems more or less bristly with slender prickles; infrastipular prickles, if any, like the others.

7. Flowers mostly solitary, usually on lateral branchlets of current season; leaflets usually 5 to 7 (9); petals more than 2 cm long..................R. acicularis
7. Flowers commonly clustered at ends of main shoots of current season as well as on lateral branchlets; leaflets (7) 9-11; petals less than 2.5 cm long..............R. arkansana

Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia (Vol. 4). (1999)