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

Rosa nutkana C. Presl
Nootka rose
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

Map

Distribution of Rosa nutkana
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Rosa nutkana ssp. macdougalii
Rosa nutkana ssp. nutkana
Rosa nutkana var. nutkana

Species Information

General:
Medium to tall shrub 0.5-3 m tall, spreading by rhizomes and often thicket-forming; stems stout to spindly, erect to arching, with a pair of large prickles (thorns) at each node, usually lacking internodal prickles; mature stems blackish.

Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, odd-pinnately compound, the leaf-stalk and axis glandular-hairy or short-hairy; leaflets 5 or 7 (9), elliptic to egg-shaped, 1-7 cm long, coarsely single- or double-toothed, somewhat glandular-short-hairy beneath; stipules usually glandular-blunt-toothed.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of usually single, sometimes 2 or 3, stalked flowers on lateral branchlets; corollas pink, saucer-shaped, large (4-8 cm across), the petals 5, (2) 2.5-4 cm long; calyces smooth or glandular-bristly, 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, 1.5-4 cm long, long-tapering and narrowing then flaring below the tip, persistent; ovaries superior but enclosed in the urn-shaped floral tube (hypanthium); stamens numerous.

Fruits:
Achenes, numerous, stiffly long-hairy on one side, enclosed by the fleshy hypanthium, which ripens into a purplish-red, globe- to pear-shaped hip 1-2 cm long.

Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:

1. Leaflets doubly saw-toothed, the teeth gland-tipped; infrastipular prickles becoming much enlarged and flattened toward base; plants mostly from west of Coast-Cascade Mountains................. var. nutkana

1. Leaflets singly saw-toothed, the teeth not gland-tiped; prickles rarely enlarged and flattened; plants mostly from east of Coast-Cascade Mountains..................var. hispida Fern.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Red

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present from Spring to Fall

Source: The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Rosa nutkana

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)	761	1	1786
Slope Gradient (%)	19	0	244
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	210	0	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	3	0	8
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
# of field plots species was recorded in:	1043
Modal BEC Zone Class	IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in	BG(59), BWBS(24), CDF(32), CWH(86), ESSF(11), ICH(146), IDF(402), MS(73), PP(78), SBPS(1), SBS(66)
Source: Klinkenberg 2013

Habitat and Range

Mesic to moist thickets, forest edges, river terraces, shorelines, streambanks, clearings and roadsides in the lowland and montane zones; common throughout BC south of 55oN except in the Chilcotin area, infrequent northward, absent in NE BC; N to AK and S to CA, CO and UT.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Status Information

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Rosa nutkana ssp. macdougalii	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed
Rosa nutkana ssp. nutkana	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Rosa muriculata Greene

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)

Taxonomic Notes

Aboriginal people in the Pacific Northwest traditionally used this species as a food, medicine, and source of cultural material. The methanolic extract of the fruits of R. nutkana has been found to have inhibitory activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Reference:

Jovel, Eduardo M., Xi Ling Zhou, Dong Sheng Ming, Tanya R. Wahbe, and G.H. Neil Towers. 2007. Bioactivity-guided isolation of the active compounds from Rosa nutkana and quantitative analysis of ascorbic acid by HPLC Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 85(9): 865–871.