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Woods' rose Rosaceae Rosa woodsii Lindl. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: ROWO
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, deciduous, 4-5 inches overall; 5 to 9 ovate to elliptical leaflets, each 1 to 3 inches long, serrate, green and glabrous above and below, obvious stipules at base of petiole.
Flower: Very showy and fragrant, pink to pale pink, 2-3 inches across, 5-petalled, flowering late spring through summer.
Fruit: Shiny orange-red, fleshy "hip" containing achenes, to 1/2 inch long, ripens in late summer.
Twig: Moderate, initially green, turning red-brown, bearing slightly curved to straight sharp prickles; buds red, rounded.
Bark: Light brown and very spiny.
Form: A thicket-forming shrub, reaches 3 to 10 feet.
Looks like: sweetbriar rose - dog rose - little wood rose - Nootka rose

Woods' rose leaf image
Woods' rose flower image
Woods' rose fruit image
Woods' rose twig image
Woods' rose bark image
Woods' rose form image
Woods' rose map image

Additional Range Information: Rosa woodsii is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information