Roses have a long history for their beauty and use in natural medicine used by people from around the world. There are over 20 rose species native to North America. Fast-growing, attractive, and extremely hardy, the Virginia rose can be found in Connecticut. This rose has many medicinal benefits that have been well known to Native American communities for centuries.
About Virginia Rose
Rosa Virginiana is a woody perennial in the rose family that is native to North America. It grows from shoots that grow from buds at the base of this shrub, which can grow up to six feet tall. Like all plants in the rose family, the stems are covered in hooked prickles. The pink flowers bloom singly or in small clusters amid glossy green, feather-like leaves from June to August. The fruit, known as rose hips, is rich in Vitamin C. The fruit can be eaten, made into jams, or seeped to make rose hip tea. The fall foliage is purple to orange-red to crimson and yellow.
Medicinal Benefits
Native American communities made tea from the petals and rose hips of this plant to treat colds, sore throats, and flu. They chewed the leaves and applied them as poultices for bee stings and burns. Some communities used rose hips to help women go into labor, and decoctions of bark were used to ease childbirth. The Cherokee made a decoction of the roots that was used as a bath to treat children with worms. The Ojibwa used an infusion of roots to wash out cuts, especially bleeding foot cuts. They also used an infusion of the roots as an eyewash for sore eyes.
Did You Know...
The Virginia Rose won the Award of Garden Merit of Great Britain's Royal Horticultural Society.
The Virginia Rose is attractive to pollinating insects, butterflies, and birds.
The Virginia Rose is also called the common wild rose and the prairie rose.
It is a nectar source for native bees and honeybees.
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