ROSA. Rose. Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere. California has several roses worthy of cultivation here. They are shrubs of quite variable size, often making impenetrable thickets. They have the typical spiny stems and leaf stalks which make being a rose enthusiast such a bloody business (though usually less viciously hooked than those of exotic species). Their classic five-petalled flowers are borne in clusters at the shoot tips. Most are sweetly fragrant. The "hips", or fleshy seed capsules, which follow can be quite decorative and make a pleasant tea when dried. The following species prefer sun but tolerate a wide variety of soils and watering regimes. Hardy as noted.

californica. A native species, quite common here along the central coast. It forms broad thickets from underground shoots--a useful feature for revegetation and ground cover, as well as a potentially serious problem for the smaller garden. Individual stems are 4-6' tall and closely set with pale green to bluish green leaves. Single pink flowers up to 2" broad decorate the plants most of the summer. The cultivar 'Plena' is usually sold under the species name but is thought to be a hybrid with or selection of R. nutkana. This is a somewhat stouter plant, growing quite erect, with reddish stems, darker leaves and rather large semi-double flowers. 10^oF. or less.

woodsii var. ultramontana. Summer travellers along the east front of the Sierra are treated to the sight of great stretches of this shrub in bloom. It is equally showy in fall color. Like R. californica, above, it makes substantial thickets, from 2' to 8' or more in height. The leaves are light to medium green and unspectacular until fall, when they take on beautiful shades of yellow to crimson. The single flowers are up to 2" broad, few to a cluster, and variable in fragrance. The hips which follow are blazing scarlet. A tough and interesting shrub. 0^oF. or less.