Wild Rose
Wild Roses support body's immune system, help fight infections, natural reliever of cold and flu symptoms. Huge supply of vitamins C, A, B, and K.
Family:
Rosaceae
Species/Botanical name:
- Rosa canina – often called Dog rose
- Rosa acicularis – often called prickly rose
- Rosa arkansana – prairie rose
- Rosa blanda – smooth rose
- Rosa setigera – climbing rose
- Rosa virginiana – Virginia rose
- Rosa woodsii – Wood’s rose
- others ...
Parts used:
petals, fruit (hips)
Plant preparation:
tea, tincture, honey, syrup, vinegar, food
Herbal roses, not modern ones are fragrant and beautiful. Rose petals are calming and mood - lifting, used for cooking, herbal medicine, and fragrance. Wild roses offer powerful medicine for relieving both emotional and physical pain, for healing wounds, and for decreasing systemic inflammation.
Wild rose hips contain plentiful vitamins and minerals, they have up to forty times more vitamin C than oranges, plus good supplies of vitamins A, B, and K.
Wild rose hips and petals offer support to the body’s immune system and help fight infection in the digestive tract. They are also diuretic, and assist in elimination of wastes through the urinary system, as well as cooling to the body, bringing down fevers and reducing heat on the skin in the form of rashes and inflammations.
Wild roses are natural reliever of cold and flu symptoms, runny noses, and blocked chests.
Medicinal Properties
- Astringent
- Analgesic
- Nervine
- Aphrodisiac
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
Uses
- Bladder infections
- Pain
- Colds
- Flu
- Grief
- Depression
- Inflammation
- Wounds
Medicinal Properties and Energetics of Rose
The hips of Wild Roses contain notable levels of vitamin C.
Can be taken as a tea or syrup in winter to help fight off common cold and flu.
Because of their slightly drying nature, rose hips have also been used to reduce symptoms of diarrhea.
Medicinal preparations of rose hip, mainly in powdered form, have been the focus of recent scientific research for the treatment of osteoarthritic conditions.
The results of clinical trials suggest that it may reduce symptoms of pain and stiffness.
Wild Roses for Your Heart
Wild roses have a positive effect on the physical heart.
Wild rose hips, petals, and essential oil relieving buttress the nervous system, relieving insomnia, soothing the nerves, and lifting depression, as well as evening out heart palpitations and arrhythmias.
Study shows that taking rose hips powder daily for 6 weeks (40grams per day), they significantly improve the blood pressure and plasma cholesterol.
Applying wild rose oil on the skin decreases breathing rate, blood oxygen saturation, and systolic blood pressure, indicating decrease of autonomic nervous system arousal.
Wild roses can be used to gladden the heart.
They are commonly used for mending a broken heart and supporting someone going through grief, sadness, and depression.
A four-week study that looked at the combination of wild rose oil and lavender essential oil for women at high risk for postpartum depression found that those receiving the aromatherapy treatments had significant improvements in both anxiety and depression without any adverse effects.
Wild Roses for Healing Wounds
Wild rose petals have long been used to heal both external and internal wounds.
Whether in the form of a water infusion, or a distilled rose water make a fragrant skin toner and cleanser, which will take the heat out of boils, acne, rashes, spots, sunburns, sores, cuts, swellings, and wounds. The Okanogan-Colville used chewed leaves as a poultice for bee stings.
The tissue-toning property helps to mend skin or address tissues that have become too lax, such as when teeth become loose in the gums or when excessive diarrhea has made intestinal tissues lax.
Wild Roses for Inflammation and Pain
Another application for the astringent properties of wild roses is ulcerated tissues, as the tightening of the tissues helps with healing.
A mouthwash made with wild rose extract is effective at relieving pain, decreasing inflammation, and reducing the size and number of ulcers in those suffering from recurrent canker sores (aphthous stomatitis).
Rose water is also a soft , safe eyewash.
Wild rose hips have ability to modulate inflammation and decrease pain. The daily consumption of wild rose hips can reduce pain and improve general well-being in patients with osteoarthritis in the hips and knees and also benefit patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rose hips reduce inflammatory markers like serum C-reactive protein in patients with osteoarthritis.
Wild Rose Petals for Reproductive System
Wild rose petals make a wonderful cooling tonic for the whole female reproductive system, reducing uterine pain and the cramp of heavy periods, and supplementing other treatment of infertility and low libido.
Rose’s cooling and balancing qualities are particularly helpful during the menopause.
Drinking wild rose teas improve the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in adolescent girls. The tea decreases menstrual pain, distress, and anxiety.
For men rose petals can be used to treat impotence.
Wild Roses for Digestive System
The astringent effect, particularly of the petals, is a result of high tannin levels, which help make rose useful in staunching bleeding and unwanted discharges. There is an effect too on the digestive system, cutting over-acidity and over-activity in the stomach, as well as reducing the spasms involved in diarrhea, colitis, and dysentery.
Wild Rose Petals for Viral Infections
Wild rose petals have good antiviral properties used for treating viral infections.
There are recent claims for good anti-HIV qualities in Rosa damascena – the damask rose.
Wild Roses - Recommended amounts
Wild rose petals and rose hips are a food and can be eaten in food like quantities.
Studies showing medicinal benefits of rose hips have used dosages anywhere from 5 grams to 45 grams per day.
Special Consideration
Avoid using wild roses that have been sprayed with pesticides. Almost all that come from florists will contain traces of pesticides, as they are not meant for consumption.
Wild rose essential oil boasts an intoxicating scent and a steep price.
It takes an amazing amount of roses to make a single ounce of the essential oil. If you find cheap rose essential oil, then it has most likely been adulterated with some other plant.
