Rosa alba
| Rosa alba | |
|---|---|
Rosa alba 'Maiden's Blush' |
|
| group | Albarosis |
| origin | Asia Minor / Europe |
| known since | before 1300 |
| List of rose varieties | |
The Alba roses ( Rosa × alba , Latin alba : white), also white peasant roses , are a group of noble and particularly old roses .
history
Together with the Rosa gallica and Rosa damascena , these ancestors of the garden roses known today in Central Europe were spread from Asia Minor via Crete, Greece and Rome to almost all of Europe.
The ancient Greeks and Romans already cultivated the Alba rose in their gardens. It was created by crossing Rosa canina var. Froebelii and Rosa damascena . Albertus Magnus mentioned the Alba rose around 1250 in the imagination of today's Germany.
symbolism
As the 'White Rose of York', the Alba rose 'Semiplena' is a symbol of the House of York and Yorkshire . In contrast, in the 15th century during the battle for the English crown in the so-called War of the Roses, the Lancaster House with the red Gallica rose in its coat of arms.
It is doubtful whether the student resistance group against National Socialism in Germany, known as the White Rose during World War II, derived its name from the Rosa alba plant genus, especially since there are also roses of other genus white and some Alba rose varieties are not white at all are, but rosé.
properties
The color spectrum of the pleasantly fragrant flowers in June - July is limited to white and pastel pink. The Alba rose has gray-green, healthy foliage, grows bushy, often overhanging, up to approx. 2 m high and is very frost hardy. It is often planted in cottage gardens, even in rough locations, as a solitary shrub or in the form of a hedge , sometimes also in partial shade. It can be used to extract rose oil .
Well-known Alba rose varieties (selection)
- 'Amelia', 1823, cherry pink;
- 'Queen of Denmark', 1816, pink;
- 'Maiden's Blush' (also: 'Cuisse de nymphe', 'La Royale', 'Incarnata' and others), before 1500, pale pink;
- 'Maxima' (also: 'Jakobitenrose', 'Cheshire Rose', 'Great Double White'), around 1600, creamy white, double;
- 'Pompon Blanc Parfait', 1876, white, blooms late;
- 'Semiplena' synonymous with 'White Rose of York', around 1473, white, only slightly filled - does not tolerate shade;
- 'Suaveolens', before 1750, white, half-filled;
- 'Félicité Parmentier', before 1834, white with delicate pink; one of the most beautiful Alba roses
'Maiden's Blush' (or 'Cuisse de nymphe')
'Queen of Denmark'
'Pompon Blanc Parfait'
See also
literature
- Heinrich Schultheis: Roses: the best types and varieties for the garden. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8001-6601-1
- Heinrich Schultheis, Helga & Klaus Urban: Rose Lexicon. 2nd edition 2001, ISBN 3-932045-25-4 (CD-ROM)
- Peter Beales: Classic roses 2nd ed. 2002, ISBN 3-8320-8736-2
Web links
- Rose folder , PDF
- Rosa alba maxima (accessed February 7, 2020)
- Rosa × alba L. , article on the website of the International Dendrology Society online (accessed February 7, 2020)