THE DOG ROSE[i]
AND RELATED SPECIES (Rosa canina,
etc.)
Family: Rosaceae
 |
Dog Rose hips.
(Hellingly, September
2008)
|
Early summer hedgerows that are smothered with the
pink-tinged flowers of the Dog Rose and its many relatives are a glorious sight.
The flowers are soon replaced by a spectacular array of polished red rose hips of
many different shapes and sizes. The breeding system and taxonomy of the wild
roses are extremely complicated and there are several closely related species
that form the ‘Rosa canina complex’
(De Riek et al. 2013; Gustafsson 1944; Lang 1987).
 |
Dog Rose hip and leaves.
(New Forest, October
2006)
|
The hips of the Dog Rose are remarkable for having the highest
vitamin C concentration of any fruit in Britain (Plants For A Future [PFAF] database).
Rose hips have as much as 2000 mg per 100g (Baher et al. 2011); Sea Buckthorn
has 350-1000 mg per 100 g (see separate entry on Sea Buckthorn); and
Blackcurrants as much as 400 mg per 100 g—all much more than that of imported
citrus fruits with only c. 70 mg per 100g (Nojavan et al. 2008: 304).
In Britain during the Second World War rose hips were a
staple source of vitamin C at a time when imported fruits were lacking (Mabey
1992: 78). The then Ministry of Food organised the collection of wild rose hips
by volunteers on a very large scale (apparently children were paid 3d per lb of
rose hips[ii]),
and issued very precise directions on how to prepare rosehip syrup with minimal
loss of the precious vitamin C[iii]. It is
interesting to note that at the time it was already known that the vitamin C is
likely to be destroyed—not from being briefly boiled (see Alston 1942), but
rather from the rose hip flesh being crushed. This crushing brings the vitamin
C into contact with key enzymes that destroy it as soon as they are freed from
the organelles within which they were hitherto contained (cf. Hooper and Ayres
1950). The Ministry’s procedures avoided this loss by advising that the crushed
flesh is immediately immersed in boiling water, which rapidly halts the action
of the enzymes concerned. The Ministry’s meticulous directions for processing
the fruits (e.g., 2 lbs of hips) were as follows:
“Have ready 3 pints of
boiling water, mince the hips in a coarse mincer, drop immediately into the
boiling water or if possible mince the hips directly into the boiling water and
again bring to the boil. Stop heating and put aside for 15 minutes. Pour into a
flannel or linen crash jelly bag and allow to drip until the bulk of the liquid
has come through.
Return the residue to
the saucepan, add 1½ pints of boiling water, stir and allow to stand for 10
minutes. Pour back into the jelly bag and allow to drip. To make sure all the
sharp hairs are removed, put back the first half cupful of liquid and allow to
drip through again.
Put the mixed juice
into a clean saucepan and boil down until the juice measures about 1½ pints,
then add 1¾ lb of sugar and boil for a further 5 minutes. Pour into hot sterile
bottles and seal at once. If corks are used, these should have been boiled for
¼ hour just previously and after insertion coated with melted paraffin wax.
It is advisable to use
small bottles and the syrup will not keep for more than a week or two once the
bottle is opened. Store in a dark cupboard.”
(Hedgerow Harvest,
Ministry of Food, 1943[iv])
 |
| Dog Rose hips. |
When eating raw hips as a
wayside snack the fruit should be split or cut open and the seeds and bristly
hairs scooped out and discarded. The fruits should then be rinsed in water to remove
any remaining hairs. This is very important as the hairs can cause choking and
serious irritation of the throat
[v].
Once all the seeds and bristly hairs are removed the hip flesh can be stewed to
make a mush that can be eaten as a fruit dish on its own or as an accompaniment
to other foods such as yoghurt. From late summer onwards the hips become so
soft that the flesh can be squeezed out of the apices leaving behind the seeds
and bristly hairs and this can be eaten directly (Anna Richardson pers. comm.).
Alternatively, the fruits can be made into rosehip tea.
 |
Dog Rose hips split open
showing
seeds and hairs. (August
2003)
|
Food value and
medicinal properties
Rose hips have many medicinal properties. In addition to
vitamin C, they contain an impressive array of other nutrients, including vitamins
E and B, polyphenols and carotenoids, which have powerful antioxidant and
antimicrobial effects (Ilyasoğlu 2014; Kılıçgün and Altıner 2010; Mármol
et al. 2017; Orhan et al. 2009). They are used as a source for anti-diabetic,
anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory treatments. It is also important to note that
rose hips can contain up to 12 per cent sugars and because they occur so widely
and grow so prolifically in Britain they are a valuable survival food—particularly
as the fruits are available well into the winter.
The fruits and petals of Rosa
canina have traditionally been used as nutritional supplements and remedies
for a range of ailments for many years and in diverse regions of the world. For
example, in Skartvelo (Republic of Georgia) rose hips are used to make jam and
tea (Bussmann et al. 2016); in the Alta Valle del Reno of northern Italy a
traditional local liqueur was made from rose petals infused for one month in
sugar-sweetened grappa (Egea et al. 2016); in the Grosses Walsertal valley,
Vorarlberg (western Austria) the petals are used to make tea (Grasser et al.
2012); and a post-WW II survey of wild plant use in Poland cited the use of
rose hips being eaten raw, preserved as jam or made into wine (Łuczaj
2008). A brief review of the ethnobotanical literature reveals many more
references to the uses of Dog Rose as a valuable edible resource. The medicinal
uses are as widely reported, for example, in the Sulayminiyah region of Iraqi
Kurdistan the flowers and fruits were made into a decoction for use as a
diuretic or to treat blood disorders (Ahmed 2016); in the Western Pyrenees rose
hips are used as remedy for gastrointestinal and respiratory problems
(Akerreta et al. 2007); in Afyonkarahisar, eastern Turkey, an infusion made
from boiling dried fruits is drunk for the treatment of hemorrhoids and gastric
ulcers (An et al. 2015); and in Slovenia hips were used to alleviate abdominal
pain, headache, diarrhoea and fever (Lumpert and Kreft 2017).
 |
Dog Rose hips.
(Hellingly, September
2008)
|
Prehistoric and
historic usage
As has been noted for
several of the other fruits in the Wild
Plant Foods of Britain blog, the remains of Rosa species (including fruits and seeds) are commonly preserved on
archaeological sites in waterlogged form (e.g., see entries for Blackthorn, Hawthorn
and Crab Apple; Colledge and Conolly 2014, table 4; Jacomet 2006: table
3). At the Swiss late Neolithic
lakeside settlements of Arbon Bleiche 3 (Hosch and Jacomet 2004),
Horgen-Scheller (Favre 2003), Pfäffikon-Burg
(Zibulski 2010) and Sutz-Lattrigen (Lattrigen Hauptstation VII; Brombacher
1997) there are large numbers of waterlogged seeds of Rosa sp. (species identification not confirmed); the fact that the
seeds are preserved in such quantities suggests that fruits were being
deliberately collected. Similarly, at the German late Neolithic site of
Sipplingen (Riehl 2004) and the French middle Neolithic site of
Motte-aux-Magnins (Lundström-Baudais 1989), both also pile dwelling (‘Pfahlbauten’) settlements,
the abundant Rosa remains were all waterlogged
and none were charred. Whole fruits, fruit fragments and seeds—again all
waterlogged, were preserved at the French middle Neolithic site of Bercy (Dietsch
1992).
Rosa sp. seeds (waterlogged)
were found in the 15th century ‘Ducal pit’ (a waste pit associated
with household activities) in the palace of the Este family in Ferrara
(northern Italy; Bosi et al. 2009). The authors compare the edible plants found
in the pit with the ingredients of recipes in a late15th/early 16th
century cookbook and note: “Rose petals were
largely used to produce acqua rosa or rosata (rosewater), a flavouring employed in about eighty recipes,
while the use of rosehips was not reported” (Bosi et al. 2009: 397-398). Seeds were also identified in the organic layers of the 15th
century Worcester barrel latrine (Greig 1981). Greig makes reference to the
similarity between the list of species found in the barrel, including roses,
strawberries, fennel, henbane, coriander and corn marigold, and the plants typical
of a Medieval garden as cited in mid-15th century poem by ‘Mayster
Ion Gardener’ (Amherst 1894).
Roses were important in Medieval
gardens, not only for their obvious uses but also their symbolism; in A Short History of Gardens (Campbell
2016) in the section on the European Medieval garden, the author comments: “The association of the Virgin with the rose
meant that many horti conclusi[vi] were rose gardens, typically laid out in
quadrants with a fountain at the centre, and enclosed by a hedge or wall. There
were often arbours, raised flower beds, turfed seats and (in the fifteenth
century) topiary…. and trellises with climbing roses Some of these enclosed
gardens were ecclesiastical, but those that belonged to nobility had a secular
dimension.”
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[i] So
named because it was used to treat dog bites (rabies). (https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0000455486
[accessed: 16.05.18])
[ii]
Excerpt from the Gloucester Citizen, 15th January 1942: ‘Rose
Hip Syrup. National rose hip
syrup, which can be taken as a substitute for orange juice, will be on sale in
chemists’ shops in England, Scotland and Wales from February 1, the Ministry of
Health announces. A campaign organised last summer and autumn by the Ministry
and the Department of Health for Scotland, resulted in the collection of 200
tons of rose hips by boy scouts, girl guides and various women’s organisations.
One teaspoon a day will supply half the vitamin C needs of a child. It has a
sweet, palatable flavour.”
[iii] Wartime
recipes: http://www.recipespastandpresent.org.uk/wartime/tag/rosehip-syrup/
[accessed: 15.05.18]
[iv]
Hedgerow harvest: Rosehips
(http://www.recipespastandpresent.org.uk/wartime/category/hedgerow-harvest/
[accessed: 16.05.18])
[v]
The hairs are used as itching powder.
[vi] Latin term
meaning ‘enclosed garden’.
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