VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Rosa acicularis | Prickly Rose 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Prickly rose is an important food source for grouse, showshoe hares, and
microtine rodents [17].  In Alaska, snowshoe hares browse on prickly
rose all year, but use is particularly heavy in summer [82,92].  In
Colorado, prickly rose is an important food item for mule deer which eat
twigs and foliage in summer and fall [88,89].  In Montana, browsing by
mule deer is greatest in fall and winter [97].  White-tailed deer browse
on wild roses (Rosa spp.) as do pronghorn, elk, moose, and mountain
sheep [49,59].  Black bear and grizzly bear eat prickly rose hips
(fruits) in fall [35,48].  Wild rose hips are eaten by songbirds and
small mammals; upland gamebirds eat buds as well as hips.  Larger
fur-bearing mammals such as bears, rabbits, and beaver eat hips, stems,
and foliage of roses [49].


PALATABILITY : 
Prickly rose is a preferred food of snowshoe hares in Alaska [58,92].
It is also one of the preferred foods of mule deer in Colorado [88,89].
In Montana, palatability of prickly rose browse is estimated as good for
pronghorn; fair for elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, cattle, and
sheep; and poor for horses [31].  Wild rose hips are probably not as
palatable to birds as other fruits and so remain on the shrubs,
providing an important winter resource [49].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Hips of prickly rose are high in vitamin A and and are a winter source
of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) [33,84,90].  Rose hips are highly
digestible and moderately high in crude protein.  Wild rose is excellent
summer browse for big game and livestock, but its protein content
decreases once leaves are shed [24].  In Montana the energy and protein
values of prickly rose are estimated to be poor [31].  Browse samples
from Northwest Territories had an ash content of 4.7 percent [90].


COVER VALUE : 
Thickets of wild rose provide excellent nesting sites and protective
cover for birds, as well as shelter for small mammals [49,74].  In
Montana, prickly rose is estimated to provide good thermal and feeding
cover for mule deer and white-tailed deer and fair cover for elk, upland
game birds, and small birds and mammals [31].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Prickly rose is recommended for revegetation on moist to wet sites in
Alaska and Alberta [90].  It is a good choice for erosion control,
especially since the prickly stems may discourage overbrowsing [74,90].
It is tolerant of acidic situations, is adapted to a wide range of soil
textures and moisture regimes, rapidly covers an area, and is moderately
tolerant of crude oil [90].  It has shown good drought tolerance on
amended oil sand tailings in Alberta and competes effectively with
seeded grasses [90,95].  In Montana, prickly rose's erosion control
potential, based on biomass, moderately agressive growth, and
persistance, is rated as medium.  Its short-term revegetation potential
is low, but long-term revegetation potential is medium [31].

Achenes of prickly rose need both warm and cold stratification for
germination; treatment details are described in various papers.  Prickly
rose can be successfully started from rhizome, softwood, and hardwood
cuttings.  Cuttings that include both rhizome and stem tissue give the
best results [90].  Results of one study showed that over 90 percent of
prickly rose rhizome cuttings produced shoots at temperatures of 41, 59,
and 77 degrees F (5, 15, and 25 degrees C).  The number of days before
shoot appearance increased as the temperature decreased [10].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Prickly rose bushes make attractive ornamentals but need careful pruning
[84].  In Alaska, prickly rose flowers are a major source of nectar for
bees kept by beekeepers [60].  Juice is extracted from the hips by
boiling and used to make jellies and syrups.  Pulp from the hips, after
seeds and skins are removed, is used to make jams, marmalades, and
catsup [33,84].  Other juice or fruit is sometimes added for flavoring.
Rose hips may be preserved by drying and then ground into a powder that
may be added to baked goods [33].  Green hips can be peeled and cooked,
and young shoots have been eaten as a potherb.  Leaves, flowers, and
buds can be used to make tea; teas made from flowers and buds may
relieve diarrhea [33,34,51].  Flower petals are also sometimes eaten raw
and may be used for perfume [34,33].  Buds and flowers can be the basis
for an eyewash [51].

Native Americans made medicinal tea from wild roses which was used as a
remedy for diarrhea and stomach maladies.  They sometimes smoked the
inner bark.  Crow Indians used a solution made by boiling rose roots in
a compress to reduce swelling.  The same solution was drunk for mouth
bleeding and gargled as a remedy for tonsillitis and sore throats; vapor
from this solution was inhaled for nose bleeding [34].  Evidently,
several tribes thought that rose hips would produce itching, although
they were sometimes used as emergency food [33,34].  Some tribes
believed wild rose could keep bad spirits away [34].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Prickly rose will sprout from the rhizomes if cut [90].  Data from
shelterwood and clearcutting in Alaskan white spruce indicates that
although prickly rose cover is initially reduced by management
practices, it recovers rapidly.  On these sites it became a dominant,
reaching or exceeding prelogging cover and frequency values, within 2
years.  There was less of an initial reduction following shelterwood
cuttings than clearcutting [21].  In Colorado prickly rose frequency
increases following logging [89].

A mixture of picloram and 2,4-D effectively controlled prickly rose
regrowth following conversion of aspen parkland in Saskatchewan to
seeded grasses.  A mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T was less successful at
controlling prickly rose and a mixture of 2,4-D with dicamba was
intermediate [8].

Prickly rose is susceptible to leaf rusts, leaf spots, powdery mildew,
stem canker, and crown gall [90].  Prickly rose foliage is very
sensitive to fumigation by sulphur dioxide [38].

Related categories for Species: Rosa acicularis | Prickly Rose