The not so mysterious origin of Rosa stylosa

The beautiful wild rose of Europe, Rosa stylosa, is clearly a relative of the dog-roses, particularly Rosa canina. However, Rosa stylosa has an oddity. The styles, instead of emerging from the flower as a rounded heap like other dog-roses, rise up together in a stout column. This feature is characteristic of very different roses, the Synstylae, or field roses, exemplified by Rosa arvensis. For this reason Rosa stylosa has sometimes been removed from the dog roses and placed in its own group, the Stylosae.

A thought is bound to arise: is Rosa stylosa a hybrid of Rosa arvensis and Rosa canina (or possibly a related dog-rose like Rosa corymbifera)? This has been formally proposed in a Belgian study [1].

Now a recent study [2] tends to confirm this view on the basis of analysis of large numbers of DNA markers. This study shows an intermediate position for Rosa stylosa between Rosa canina and Rosa arvensis. So apparently it is a hybrid. Problem solved?


[1] De Cock et al. (2007) The diversity of autochthonous roses in Flanders (Belgium) in view of the European GENEROSE reference framework. Acta Hort. 760, 621–628.
[2] De Riek et al. (2013) AFLP-based population structure analysis as a means to validate the complex taxonomy of dogroses (Rosa section Caninae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 67, 547–559.