The Rose Family and You

When going on hikes throughout Northwest Indiana it is hard to miss the five-petaled pink or white flowers that begin to pop up in May throughout the trails. The plants can often also be identified by thorns growing from their stems. These are wild roses!

Most everyone has seen a rose before in their lives. This symbolic flower of love is commonly seen in bouquets or as garden plants. While this flower might seem small and insignificant, the plant family it comes from has had a massive impact on human society over time.

The rose family (latin name Rosaceae) dates back to over 120 millions years ago when Tyrannosaurus Rex ruled the Earth. Since then the Rosacea family has branched into over 3,000 unique species of plants that are seen all over the world. The unique thing about the Rosaceae family is that the majority of fruit that come from plants in the rose family are edible.

Possibly you have heard of rose hip tea before, which some people drink for the vitamin C content. The fruit from a rose bush (called hips) can be dried up and brewed into a tea to enjoy before bedtime. However, the rose hip is far from being the most popular fruit in the rose family.

Fruits you see every time you go to the grocery store also come from plants in the rose family! Apples, plums, pears, peaches, cherries, blackberries, and raspberries all are part of the rose family! In addition to these fruits found in grocery stores, there are also many edible fruits found in nature from the rosaceae family such as hawthorne, serviceberries, and thimbleberries. Even almonds come from the hard pits found in a species of cherry trees.

Next time you are out on the trails–or even at your local grocery store–keep your eyes peeled! It might just surprise you how often you will see plants and fruit from the rose family in your daily life.

Brandon Griffith

Community Education Coordinator