Rosaceae
Rosa nutkana

Nootka Rose

Shrub forming loose thickets. Stems often really black, 2 broad straight thorns at leaf bases. Leaves divided, 3–7 leaflets with rounded tips, sparsely hairy, glandular. Flowers solitary, to 3 in. across, pink, petal tips broadly notched. Sepals green, as long as petals, tips toothed. Purplish red hips have withering sepals at base. Grows in moist flats at low to mid elevations. Var. nutkana, chiefly west of Cascades, has leaflets double-toothed with glands on tooth tips, thorns becoming very wide and flat toward stem base. Var. hispida, chiefly east of Cascades, has leaflets single-toothed, not glandular, thorns not enlarged or flat. Varieties intergrade in the north and may hybridize with R. woodsii and R. gymnocarpa.

  • Rarity: Locally Common
  • Flowering Time: Late Spring, Early Summer
  • Life Cycle: Perennial
  • Height: 3--6 feet
  • Habitat: Coastal, Meadow
  • Found In: Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, N Cascades Np, Wallowas, West Gorge
  • Native: Yes

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