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- Rosa multiflora
Rosa multiflora — rambler rose
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Facts
Rambler rose, also known as multiflora rose, is aptly named for its copious sprays of abundant white flowers borne on dense, arching branches. Birds feed on the fruits and disperse its seeds widely -- especially the Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos). First introduced to the United States from Japan in 1886, multiflora rose was widely used as a rootstock for grafting cultivated roses. It was promoted as a highway planting, a living fence, an erosion control agent, and a planting to attract wildlife. Today, multiflora rose is regarded as an invasive species in many portions of its range.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, shrublands or thickets
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- 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
- 50–100 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 ridged or plated
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- green
- 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
-
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
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Anther color
- the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
- 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
- white
- 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 hairs
- there are no hairs on the inflorescence
- 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 appearance
- the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- 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
- purple
- red
- some other color
- 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 underside of leaf blade
- the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
- 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 cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade base symmetry
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
- 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
- 50–100 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)
- the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
- Leaf blade texture
-
- the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture)
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade vein pattern
- the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
- 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 stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- 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 a single terminal leaflet and more than two additional leaflets
- Stipules
- the plant has stipules
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
- shores of rivers or lakes
- shrublands or thickets
-
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 ridged or plated
- 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
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are no lenticels on the twigs, or they are very hard to see
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
- the twigs have few or no hairs on them
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- green
- 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
- present, invasive, prohibited
- Maine
- present, invasive, prohibited
- Massachusetts
- present, invasive, prohibited
- New Hampshire
- present, invasive, prohibited
- Rhode Island
- present, invasive
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
12. Rosa multiflora Thunb. ex Murr. E
rambler rose. CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Fields, roadsides, waste areas, forest fragments, river banks.
Native to North America?
No
Sometimes confused with
- Rosa luciae:
- stipules dentate, styles pubescent, and leaflets suborbicular to broad-ovate or broadobovate (vs. R. multiflora, with stipules fimbriately or pectinately toothed, styles glabrous, and leaflets oblong or elliptic to obovate).
- Rosa sempervirens:
- styles pubescent, leaflets 30–60 mm long, mature hips ca. 10 mm in diameter, and stipules serrate (vs. R. multiflora, with styles glabrous, leaflets mostly 10–30 mm long, mature hips mostly 5-7 mm in diameter, and stipules fimbriately or pectinately toothed).