Multiflora Rose

Nonnative species, invasive. Originally planted to conserve soil and attract wildlife. Forms impenetrable thickets. Occurs along edges of forests in the Nature Park.

Classsification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus species: Rosa multiflora Thunb.

Leaves:
Compound leaves, 5 to 9 leaflets per leaf, 5 to 10 cm long
Long leafy stipules are sattached to lower portions ofleafstalks

Flowers:
Flowers produced in long panicles
Each flower is small, 1.5 to 4 cm diameter, pink.

Fruit:
Rose fruits, known as "hips", are reddish to purple, 6 to 8 mm in diameter.

Over time this plant has become a serious ecological problem, due to its ability to grow in diverse light, soil, and moisture conditions, and because its seeds are widely broadcast by birds. Once established, it forms nearly impenetrable thickets that displace native understory plants, and can become a fire hazard in wilderness areas. Some places classify Multiflora rose as a "noxious weed".

 



Multiflora rose foliage


Multiflora rose leaves