Leaf
Bertrand Bui, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Rugosa rose
Rosa rugosa Thunb.
Also known as: Japanese rose, Beach rose
Family: Rosaceae
1 to 1.5 m tall
Hedges, seaside, gardens, all soils even sandy ones
Flowering: June – September
Full sun
Hardy to -35°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Extremely resistant to salt and wind, it grows naturally on coastal dunes.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, compound, crinkled leaflets, glossy green
🌸 Flowers
Large single bright pink or white flowers, very fragrant
🍎 Fruits
Large orange-red rose hips, edible, rich in vitamin C
🪵 Bark
Very prickly stems covered in fine down
🗺️ Distribution
East Asia (Japan, Korea, China, eastern Siberia); widely naturalised on the Atlantic and Channel coasts of France, considered invasive in the dunes.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Large, very fragrant single flowers, rich in pollen, much visited by bees.
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted as a salt- and sand-tolerant coastal hedge, but monitored for its invasive character in dune environments.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity; large rose hips edible, rich in vitamin C.
🌱 Known cultivars
Hansa
Very fragrant rugosa rose with large double purplish-pink flowers, which blooms almost continuously until the first frosts and then produces large decorative rose hips.
Fru Dagmar Hastrup
Compact rugosa rose with very fragrant single pale pink flowers, RHS award-winning; particularly valued for its large red rose hips in autumn and its extreme hardiness.
🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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