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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Rosa acicularis — bristly rose

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Facts

Bristly rose is fairly widespread and abundant in North America, growing in a variety of different habitat types. In New England the species is rare, with a few populations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. New England populations inhabit areas of calcareous rock or rich sediments.

Habitat

Cliffs, balds, or ledges, ridges or ledges

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont
Growth form
the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
Leaf type
the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
Leaves per node
there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
Leaf duration
the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
armature on plant
the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns
Leaf blade length
70–140 mm
Leaf stalk
the leaves have leaf stalks
Fruit type (general)
  • the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
  • the fruit is fleshy
Bark texture
the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
Twig winter color
  • brown
  • purple
  • red
Bud scale number
there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
Show all characteristics

  • Buds or leaf scars

    Bud scale number
    there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
    Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
    NA
    Collateral buds
    there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
    Leaf scar arrangement
    there is one leaf scar per node on the stem or twig
    Superposed buds
    there are no superposed buds on the branch

  • Flowers

    Carpels fused
    • the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another
    • the carpels are fused to one another
    Enlarged sterile flowers
    there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
    Flower petal color
    pink
    Flower symmetry
    there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
    Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
    NA
    Hypanthium present
    the flower has a hypanthium
    Inflorescence type
    • the inflorescence has only one flower on it
    • the inflorescence is a corymb (with long lower branches and shorter upper branches, giving it a more or less flat-topped look)
    Number of pistils
    6 or more
    Ovary position
    the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
    Petal appearance
    the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
    Petal fusion
    the perianth parts are separate
    Sepal cilia (Ilex)
    NA
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    the sepals are separate from one another
    Stamen number
    13 or more
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    • NA
    • red
    Fruit tissue origin
    the hypanthium of the flower becomes part of the fruit
    Fruit type (general)
    • the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
    • the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    • the fruit is an achene (dry, usually 1-seeded, does not separate or split open at maturity)
    • the fruit is an aggregate (composed of multiple fused ovaries from one flower)
    Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
    NA
    Wings on fruit
    there are no wings on the fruit

  • Glands or sap

    Sap color
    the sap is clear and watery
    Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
    there are no stalked glands on the fruit

  • Growth form

    Growth form
    the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)

  • Leaves

    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf blade base shape
    • The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
    • the base of the leaf blade is rounded
    Leaf blade base symmetry
    the leaf blade base is symmetrical
    Leaf blade edges
    the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
    Leaf blade edges (Acer)
    NA
    Leaf blade flatness
    the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
    Leaf blade hairs
    • at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade have glands at their tips
    • the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
    Leaf blade length
    70–140 mm
    Leaf blade scales
    there are no scales on the leaf blades
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
    Leaf blade texture
    the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
    Leaf blade translucent dots
    there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
    Leaf duration
    the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
    Leaf form
    the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
    Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
    NA
    Leaf stalk
    the leaves have leaf stalks
    Leaf teeth
    the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
    Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
    NA
    Leaf type
    the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
    Leaves per node
    there is one leaf per node along the stem
    Specific leaf type
    the leaf is compound, with three leaflets
    Stipules
    the plant has stipules

  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • cliffs, balds, or ledges
    • ridges or ledges

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Aerial roots
    the plant has no aerial roots
    Bark texture
    the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
    Branch brittleness (willows only)
    NA
    Branch cross-section
    the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
    First-year cane (Rubus)
    NA
    Pith shape
    the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
    Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
    NA
    Twig winter color
    • brown
    • purple
    • red
    Wings on branch
    the branch does not have wings on it
    armature on plant
    the plant has spines, prickles, or thorns

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
absent
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Maine
unranked (S-rank: SNR)

ssp. sayi

Maine
historical (S-rank: SH), potentially extirpated (code: PE)
Massachusetts
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)
New Hampshire
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)
Vermont
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)

Subspecies and varieties

Our subspecies is Rosa acicularis Lindl. ssp. sayi (Schwein.) W.H. Lewis.

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Rosa acicularis Lindl. ssp. sayi (Schwein.) W.H. Lewis NC

bristly rose. Rosa acicularis Lindl. var. bourgeauiana (Crépin) Crépin; R. bourgeauiana Crépin; R. sayi Schwein. • MA, ME, NH, VT; also reported from RI by Kartesz (1999), but specimens are unknown. Ridges, cliffs, and balds in high-pH bedrock regions, rocky headlands. This taxon usually has a globose mature hypanthium; however, rare collections in New England show elongate hypanthia—Sorrie et al. 2562 (NEBC!). Specimens from CT considered to be Rosa acicularis—Weatherby 5176 (NEBC!)—are not this species, as evidenced the presence of stipitate-glands on the hypanthia and scarcity of glands on leaves and stipules. Early reports of this species in NH (e.g., Pease 1964) were based on collections of R. arkansana that were introduced along railroads. Rosa acicularis has since been found in the state from a natural community in Carroll County.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Rosa blanda:
branchlets without prickles or rarely with a few prickles, upper stipules, floral bracts, petioles, and leaf rachises without stipitate glands, though often with sessile glands at the tips of the teeth of the stipules and/or floral bracts, and fruiting hypanthium usually red to red-brown in drying (vs. R. acicularis, with branchlets with numerous prickles, usually the upper stipules, floral bracts, petioles, and/or leaf rachises stipitate-glandular, at least when young, and fruiting hypanthium dark blue in drying).
Rosa carolina:
pedicels and hypanthium stipitate-glandular and sepals spreading or reflexed after anthesis, promptly deciduous in fruit (vs. R. acicularis, with pedicels and hypanthium glabrous and sepals erect or connivent after anthesis, persistent in fruit).

Synonyms

  • Rosa acicularis Lindl. var. bourgeauiana (Crépin) Crépin
  • Rosa bourgeauiana Crépin
  • Rosa sayi Schwein.

Family

Rosaceae

Genus

Rosa