The Rose Family gives PEI so many beautiful and delicious plants: Apples, Blackberries, Chokeberries, Chokecherries, Raspberries, Serviceberries, Strawberries, and more! This is the perfect time of year to focus on the family namesake: Wild Rose (Rosa spp).
Humans have long cultivated Roses for aesthetics, food, medicine, and scent. It’s not surprising that European settlers not only brought some of their prized varieties to North America, but also shipped native North American species back to the Old World. Many non-native species are now naturalized on our continent and at least one – Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) – has become invasive. Of PEI’s dozen or so species of Wild Rose, only three are native, including the common Virgina Rose (Rosa virginiana, Photo 1).
Rose species can be a bit tricky to tell apart, but all our Wild Roses can be used in the same ways. Rose petals are edible and can be eaten raw, candied, made into syrup or jelly, and dried for use as tea. Although less commonly used than the petals, Wild Rose leaves can also be dried for tea. But in my opinion, it’s the fruit – called Rosehips (Photo 2) – that are the best part, and now is the time to collect them.
Rosehips are very high in Vitamin C, with three hips providing as much of this nutrient as one orange. They are also good sources of Vitamins A, B, E and K; iron; and essential fatty acids (not often found in fruit). Rosehips are a focus of active medical research, including their potential anti-cancer, anti-arthritis, and neuroprotective (protecting brain and nerve cell) effects.
Like the other parts of Wild Rose, the hips can be eaten fresh, cooked, or dried. Fresh maintains the levels of Vitamins B and C, but only the flesh – not the seeds – should be eaten raw. Rosehip seeds (as well as seeds of the other members of this family) contain a compound related to cyanide that is destroyed by cooking. Another reason to avoid eating too many raw Rosehips is the fine hair around the seeds (Photo 3).
If you’re of my generation, you’ll recall the many novelty products for sale in the back pages of comic books. Alongside ads for useful items such as X-ray goggles, whoopie cushions, and joy buzzers was the ever-popular itching powder (Photo 4). With the tagline of “worse than a cartload of fleas”, it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out the effects of a pinch of itching powder tossed down your enemy’s shirt.
Itching powder was originally made from ground up Rosehips – specifically, their fine, irritating hairs. If you have trouble picturing how that would relate to eating too many raw Rosehips without removing those hairs, just know that fresh Rosehips are sometimes called “itchy bums”. Need I say more?
I enjoy Rosehips cooked in ways that filter out those hairs (such as jelly or syrup) or dried and enjoyed as tea (again, with the seeds and hairs strained out). Rosehip syrup pairs nicely with both sweet and savoury dishes: I use it on top of pancakes and yoghurt, as well as in glazes for meat, especially wild game.
Wild Roses are common across the Island. You can find the native Virginia Rose in coastal areas, as well as along hedgerows, roadsides, and trails. Non-native species – in particular Rugose Rose (Rosa rugosa) with its hips the size of Crabapples – have been commonly planted as landscape plants and are useful to look for in public spaces.
Just remember that ‘every rose has its thorn’ and be careful when picking this part of PEI untamed!
Comentarios