Rosa minutifolia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rosa minutifolia |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Rosa
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| Species: |
minutifolia
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Rosa minutifolia is a special type of rose plant. It's also known by fun names like the Baja rose or small-leaved rose. This plant is famous for having the tiniest leaves of all the roses!
Contents
What it Looks Like
This rose grows as a thick, bushy plant. It often forms dense shrubs or groups of plants. You can usually find it in areas with chaparral plants, which are tough, scrubby bushes.
Size and Shape
Rosa minutifolia usually grows to be about 30 to 100 centimeters (about 1 to 3 feet) tall. It can also spread out just as wide.
Stems and Prickles
The stems of this rose are low and arch outwards. They have many thin, straight prickles (like small thorns). These prickles are usually not in pairs and can be about 2 to 12 millimeters long.
Tiny Leaves
The leaves of Rosa minutifolia are super small! They are the smallest of all the plants in the Rosa family. The very end leaflets are only about 3 to 6 millimeters long and wide.
The leaves are round and widest in the middle. Their tips are often blunt or rounded. The edges of the leaves have small teeth about halfway to the middle vein. The leaves don't have glands. The main stem of the leaf is slightly hairy and has a few small glands. Each leaf usually has 5 to 7 small, hairy leaflets.
Beautiful Flowers
The flowers of Rosa minutifolia usually grow one at a time. The small stems that hold the flowers (called pedicels) are hairy and don't have glands. They are about 2 to 10 millimeters long.
Each flower has a cup-shaped part (called a hypanthium) that is about 3 millimeters wide. The neck of the flower is very prickly and about 2 millimeters wide. The sepals (the green leaf-like parts under the petals) have small teeth on their sides and no glands. Their tips are usually about the same length as the main part, which also has teeth.
Most flowers have about 10 pistils (the female parts of the flower). The petals are 10 to 20 millimeters long and can be deep pink, light pink, or sometimes even white. These roses bloom early, from late winter to April. R. minutifolia is the first native California rose to flower each year!
Fruity Fun
After the flowers, this rose produces small, round fruits. They are usually about 5 millimeters wide. The sepals stay on the fruit and point upwards or outwards. We don't know much about the tiny seeds (achenes) inside.
Where it Grows
Rosa minutifolia is native to the chaparral plant areas. You can find wild populations of it in northern Baja California, which is in Mexico. It used to grow in San Diego County, California too, but sadly, it no longer grows wild there.
Growing it in Gardens
People often grow Rosa minutifolia in their gardens. It's a popular plant because it looks very pretty!
What's in a Name?
The name 'Minutifolia' tells us something important about the plant. It means 'with very small leaves'. This comes from 'minuti', meaning 'minute' (tiny), and 'folium', meaning 'leaves'. The name 'Rosa' comes from the Latin word 'rosa', which simply means 'rose'.
For a while, people weren't sure if Rosa minutifolia belonged in the Rosa family. Some thought it should be in its own group called Hesperhodos. But now, everyone agrees it's a true rose!
