Rosa micrantha Small-flowered Sweet-briar

A rose with climbing stems that are arched bearing strong, curved prickles which are all of the same size. The conspicuously glandular foliage has a sweet, fruity smell when fresh.  It produces attractive pink flowers, that are comparatively small compared to other sweet-briars and usually less than 3cm in diameter with deflexed sepals that remain deflexed on the shoots. Rosa rubiginosa is similar but has upright stems with prickles of different sizes and sepals that are not markedly deflexed on the hips but tend to spread. Small-flowered Seeet-briar grows in wooded areas such as scrub and hedges, preferring calcareous soils, including sandy soils. It is a southern species in Britain, but rather scarce in south Wales and uncommon in West Glamorgan with very few records.

Native