"What Do I Do With Rose Hips" The Herb Cottage Newsletter February 2014

Cindy Meredith a/k/a Herbiecott has a wonderful Newsletter on The Herb Cottage this month.  Be sure to check it out.

 

What Do I Do With Rose Hips?

My friend Karen Ribble, Hair Braider extrordinaire and long time friend asked me about Rose Hips last month, so I decided to write this month's newsletter to answer some of her questions, and to refresh my own memory about how to harvest, use and store them. Since it's February, the month of Romance due to Valentine's Day, I thought this aspect of roses would be very appropriate.

Roses have been used for flavoring, ceremonies and health for centuries. Evidence of the use of roses dates back to 2000 BCE in Crete where drawings of roses appear on the walls of the Palace of Knossos. 

From that period forward to today, roses are evident in many cultures, including ancient Rome, Persia, India and China, to name just a few. Here is a short article on some of the ancient history of the Rose.

In America, fossil evidence of the rose has been dated to some 40 million years ago. It was then that a rose left its imprint on a slate deposit at Florissant, Colorado. Fossilized remains from 35 million years ago have also been found in Montana and Oregon. Here is further information on the Rose in Amercia from Texas A&M Horticulture.

Now that we have determined Roses are a fabulous flower, some originating in the United States, wtih myriad uses, let's concentrate on Rose Hips, the seed pods of the Rose. Oh, you didn't realize Roses produce seed? Of course they do. Just like any flower. It's just that mostly Roses are grown from cuttings or, now, tissue culture, that we rarely think of growing Roses from seed.

Not all Rose Hips are created equal. If you notice the pods or hips on various rose types, some are very large while others are much smaller. The large hips are the ones prized for collecting for tea and other uses. Many people think the rose that produces the best hips is the common wild rose, also known as the Dog Rose. 

Click the following link to read the rest of the Newsletter.  You won't be sorry!

http://theherbcottage.com/2-14_rose_hips.html

http://www.theherbcottage.com/2-14_rose_hips.html