Well I was walking the dog around a field yesterday when we came upon that marvellous hedgerow full of Honeysuckle, It also had, in equal abundance, two species of native rose. Rosa canina and Rosa arvensis, the Dog Rose and the Field Rose.

I thought that finding them both together like that would be a good opportunity to point out the differences in the two plants. (and also post some pretty pictures of flowers)

Although superficially similar, they are both pale coloured roses that grow in the hedgerow, they are pretty easy to tell apart.

This is Rosa canina and it is pink.

And this is Rosa arvensis and it is white.

Simples.

But then, this is Rosa canina and it is white…

If it is not clear what colour your flower is then I would look at the buds where the colour is concentrated. Whilst the Dog Rose can fade to white, the Field Rose is always white and never pink.

The buds of a Field Rose look like this. (pure white)

The buds of Dog Rose look like this.

The sepals that surround the bud are a bit different too but we don’t have to worry about that because there is another big difference right in the middle of the flower that sticks out like a sore thumb.

The styles of the Field Rose join together to form a column in the very centre of the flower.

The styles of the Dog Rose are free.

So one is pink and one is white, let’s look at the flowers. (Bet you look at the styles)

Field Rose, Rosa arvensis.

Dog Rose, Rosa canina.

That’s it for roses until next time. I am very fond of rose hips. Thanks for looking in.