HERB - Old roses

Tue Jul 13 14:00:32 PDT 1999

Greetings,

This is a post from the Outlands most recent Lady of the Rose.  I have her
permission to cross post.  I thought it fit in nicely with our current
discussion.

If you would like to comment on her missive, please also include a copy to
her as I am sure she would be interested.

Yours in Gentle Service,
Baroness Leonora
Outlands

>Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 10:31:51 -0600
>Reply-To: outlands at list.unm.edu
>Sender: owner-outlands at list.unm.edu
>From: "KAREN VINTROUX" <KAREN_VINTROUX at eftc.com>
>To: <outlands at list.unm.edu>
>Subject: What Queens do after they step down......
>X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 5.5
>X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by bamboo.verinet.com
id KAA07127
>
>Lady Rowen and I have been studying period roses!  We just acquired our
first variety yesterday.  It is called 'Austrian Copper' or technically,
Rosa foetida bicolor. It was first cultivated prior to 1590.  Austrian
Copper covers itself in small brightly colored blooms in the spring before
many other roses have started blooming. The single blooms are bright
orange/red with a yellow reverse and have bright yellow stamens. It is a
vigorous grower and very winter hardy, only taking a couple of years to get
6 or 7 feet high. It suckers and can take over a large area if allowed to
do so. The foliage is pretty, with 5 to 7 leaflets per leaf. The fragrance
is reportedly not pretty, although many conjecture that this is a matter of
opinion. 
>
>The cool thing about roses is that they made from cuttings or rootings
from original bushes!  So that little guy I brought home last night is a
direct 'link' you might say.  :)  Lord Padriac of Grandview also informed
me that grape vine stock is produced the same way, but that all the period
stock in Europe was destroyed (disease or frost?).  He continued by saying
that the only old European grape vine stock is currently available from
Portugal, as theirs did not suffer the same fate and were introduced before
the disaster.
>
>Our goal is to grow and use the petals and hips in period 'recipes'  If
you have any resources or things that you've tried that did or did not
work. I would appreciate a private response to Karen_Vintroux at EFTC.com  We
plan to practice the recipes first on modern varieties, especially since
the darn things proabably wont produce prolific quantities of material the
first year.  It will be interesting to see if there is a difference in the
end product as there are varietal changes due to hybridization.
>
>
>What we've found out so far.....(most rosarians report similar properties
and histories)
>
>There is evidence from fossil records that roses have existed for millions
of years. First cultivated in China, roses were introduced to Europe for
ornamental purposes by the Romans. After the fall of the Roman Empire,
roses were primarily used for medicinal purposes until their re-emergence
centuries later. 
>
>Autumn Damask
>Brought from North Africa around 50 B.C., Autumn Damask (R. damascena
sempervirens) was the first rose introduced to Europe around 1250 and were
the first repeat bloomers. Autumn Damask features a heavy spring bloom
followed by a lesser bloom in fall.  Damasks originated from a natural
hybrid (a cross in the wild) between a Gallica and Rosa phoenicea, a
species rose. While the China and Tea roses which came later are often
considered the first roses known for repeat flowering, it was Autumn Damask
that led the way in Europe.
>
>Centifolia Roses
>There is controversy about the origins of Centifolia Roses. Originally
considered one of the most ancient classes (Centifolia roses were the roses
thought to be piled knee-deep in the room where Cleopatra first met Mark
Antony), it is now thought that their introduction came much later, in the
16th Century. Because of their many petals, Centifolia Roses are also
called 'Cabbage' Roses due to the size and shape of their blooms and their
many petals.  Mature Centifolias have a graceful, arching habit. The
majority of Centifolias blooms are pink, with some purple, crimson, and a
couple whites. Flowers have many petals and seem to hang out on the bush in
a graceful manner. Fragrance is reportedly excellent.  Centifolias are
prolific sport producers (ie one cane has a different floral or leaf
appearence), the most famous being the Moss class, which have glandular
growth on the sepals and down the flower stem which provides a 'mossy'
effect. 
>
>Apothecary's Rose, Rosa gallica officinalis, is 'the' historic rose IMHO.
Beautiful very dark pink (almost red in cooler climates)  flowers are
produced in early summer on a three to four foot erect shrub.   This rose
played an integral part of a medicinal treatments, was the symbol of a
ruler's throne, and was used in the great perfumeries of France.  Brought
back by Le Chansonnier from the Crusades in the thirteenth century, the
Apothecary's Rose was used in perfume manufacture in Provins. 
>
>War of the Roses
>In 1455, two families, the York's and Lancaster's, began a struggle for
the throne of England which would last thirty years. Each family took a
rose as their symbol, the York's taking Rosa alba (now known as the White
Rose of York) and the Lancaster's taking Apothecary's Rose (Rosa gallica
officinalis). The legend has it that the two families stopped feuding when
a rosebush was found in the British countryside that had roses of both red
and white. The York and Lancaster Rose was named so because it was thought
to be this fabled rose of red and white, however, the York and Lancaster
Rose was not introduced until 1551, sixty-six years after the end of the
War of the Roses. By the way, the Lancaster's won.
>
>Catcha on the flip side...
>
>Lillian
>
>

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