NPWRC :: Midwestern Wetland Flora

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


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Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)

Family: Rose (Rosaceae)
Flowering: July-September.
Field Marks: This is the only wetland wild rose that has 7 leaflets and large pink flowers.
Habitat: Swamps, marshes.
Habit: Shrub up to 7 feet tall.
Stems: Much branched, with stout, flat, curved spines up to 1/4 inch long.
Leaves: Alternate, pinnately divided into 7 leaflets, the leaflets elliptic, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, toothed, hairy, up to 1 1/2 inches long.
Flowers: Solitary or few in a cluster, pink, up to 3 inches across.
Sepals: 5, green.
Petals: 5, pink, free from each other.
Stamens: Numerous.
Pistils: Numerous, each with a superior ovary.
Fruits: Fleshy, red, up to 3/4 inch in diameter.
Notes: The fruits are eaten by wildlife.

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/floramw/species/rosapalu.htm
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Page Last Modified: Thursday, 03-Aug-2006 11:39:25 EDT
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]