Rosa damascena

Rosa × damascena, more commonly known as the Damask rose or simply as "Damask" is a rose hybrid, derived from Rosa gallica and Rosa moschata (Huxley 1992).

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It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2.2 m tall, the stems densely armed with stout, curved prickles and stiff bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with five (rarely seven) leaflets.

It is considered an important type of Old Rose, also for their prominent place in the pedigree of many other types.

The crusader Robert de Brie is given credit for bringing them from Persia to Europe sometime between 1254 and 1276. The name refers to Damascus, a major city in the region.

They are renowned for their fine fragrance, and their flowers are commercially harvested for rose oil used in perfumery. The perfume industry often refers to this note as Damascus rose.

The hybrid is divided in two varieties (Huxley 1992):

• Summer Damasks (R. × damascena nothovar. damascena) have a short flowering season, only in the summer.
• Autumn Damasks (R. × damascena nothovar. semperflorens (Duhamel) Rowley) have a longer flowering season, extending into the autumn; they are otherwise not distinguishable from the summer damasks.

A still popular example of R. × damascena is the Ispahan rose

The hybrid Rosa × centifolia is derived in part from Rosa × damascena

References and external links

• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
• Damask Rose