Summary ¹¹

Rosa multiflora (syn. Rosa polyantha) is a species of rose known commonly as multiflora rose, baby rose, Japanese rose, many-flowered rose, seven-sisters rose, and Eijitsu rose. It is native to eastern Asia, in China, Japan and Korea. It should not be confused with Rosa rugosa, which is also known as "Japanese rose", or with polyantha roses which are garden cultivars derived from hybrids of R. multiflora.

Growth Form and Lifespan ¹²

Multiflora rose is a perennial shrub.

Habitat ¹²

Found in open sun creating impenetrable thickets in pastures, fields, and along forest edges.

Leaves ¹²

Can grow approximately 10 feet in height and can have multiple stems. Branchlets have stout, curved thorns. Leaves are alternate and compound (composed of 5 to 11 leaflets). The serrated leaflets range in size from 1/2 inch to 2 inches long and are ovate in shape with pointed tip.

Reproductive Mode ¹²

Produces clusters of white flowers with 5 petals in the spring and, later in the season, a small red fruit. This fruit persists into the winter months and do not split apart easily. They require time to dry out to make seeds available, therefore wind transport is minimal.

Control Considerations ¹²

Restricts human, livestock, and wildlife movement, and displaces native vegetation. Stems are capable of rooting where they contact the soil. Mechanical removal is effective when all roots are completely removed from the soil.

Invasive traits include high seed production and viability, seed dispersal via birds and berry feeding animals, monoecious breeding system, fragmentation producing reproductive stems, no effective predators, leaf out and loss timing, shade tolerance, and timing of fruiting.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) sheoftheplants, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by sheoftheplants
2. (c) Susan Elliott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Susan Elliott
3. (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Douglas Goldman
4. (c) J. Richard Abbott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by J. Richard Abbott
5. (c) ktheo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by ktheo
6. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/8799278
7. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/8799281
8. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/8799282
9. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/8799283
10. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/8799284
11. Adapted by Max Leveridge from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_multiflora
12. (c) Max Leveridge, all rights reserved

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