Description: This is a woody vine that is 4-12' long. In open areas, the Climbing Wild Rose ascends about 3' and arches downward to reroot in the ground, while in more wooded areas it tends to climb over neighboring vegetation. The prickles along the woody stems are short, stout, and slightly curved. They are not particularly numerous. The alternate compound leaves usually consist of 3 leaflets, or less often 5 leaflets. Each leaflet is about 2-3" long and 1-1½" across, with a rather long and pointed tip. The shape is ovate to slightly lanceolate, with deep conspicuous veins, and finely serrate margins. At the base of each compound leaf are two winged stipules without comb-like hairs.
The flowers appear
in small clusters from early to mid-summer and bloom for about a month.
Each flower is about 2½-3" across, and consists of 5 light pink to rosy
pink petals, numerous golden stamens, and pistils that form a small
column in the center. The flowers have a typical rose fragrance. Later
in the summer, bright red rose hips appear. The root system consists of
a taproot that branches occasionally, and is usually quite deep. This
vine reproduces by seed or suckering of the stems.
Cultivation:
The preference is full or partial sun and loamy, fertile soil. This
plant prefers soil that is evenly moist or mesic – it dislikes wet
conditions with standing water or droughty conditions. During dry, hot
weather there is a tendency for the leaves to become yellowish green
and growth may be stunted.
Range
& Habitat: The native Climbing
Wild Rose occurs throughout most of Illinois, except in the NW, where
it is uncommon or absent (see Distribution
Map). Habitats include moist to mesic prairies, savannas,
thickets, woodland borders and clearings, acid gravel seeps, fence
rows, abandoned pastures, and waste areas. Sometimes this plant is
called the 'Prairie Rose,' although it is more common near woodland
areas. It has a moderate capacity to recover from occasional fire and
other disturbances.
Faunal Associations:
The most common visitors to the flowers of Climbing Wild Rose (Rosa
setigera) are various bees and Syrphid
flies. Bees collect pollen, and typical visitors include honeybees,
bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, leaf-cutting bees (Megachile spp.), and
Halictine bees. Syrphid flies feed on pollen, but they usually are not
effective as
pollinators. Various insects feed destructively on roses (Rosa spp.).
This includes such insects as flea beetles (Altica spp.), the Rose
Chafer (Macrodactylus subspinosa), several species of aphids, the Rose
Scale (Aulacaspis rosae), larvae of several species of sawflies, larvae
of many gall wasps (Diplolepis spp.), Wild Rose Thrips (Heterothrips
analis), Stinging Rose Caterpillar (Parasa indetermina), and other
larvae of moths. See the Insect Table
for a more complete list of these species. Rose hips are eaten by many
birds, including the Greater Prairie Chicken and other upland
gamebirds, the Northern Cardinal and other songbirds, and they are also
eaten by the White-footed Mouse. The stems and
foliage of roses are browsed by the Cottontail Rabbit, White-Tailed
Deer, and domesticated goats, notwithstanding the occasional prickles.
Photographic
Location: The photographs were
taken at a powerline clearance of Busey Woods in Urbana, Illinois.
Comments:
This native rose can be distinguished from the exotic Rosa
multiflora (Multiflora Rose) by the lack of comb-like hairs
on the stipules at the base of its compound leaves. It also differs
from Multiflora Rose by
having larger flowers that are more pink and by having fewer leaflets
per compound leaf. Other native roses in Illinois are small shrubs that
don't have the
climbing habit of Rosa
setigera (Wild Climbing Rose). They also have more
leaflets per compound leaf than the latter species, and they have a
flat button of pistils at the center of each flower, instead of a
narrow column of pistils.