Book  (1936)  Page(s) 666.  
 
Simplicifolia (rugosa) ? ? ; pink, large, single

Website/Catalog  (1923)  Page(s) 49.  
 
Rosa Berberifolia (Pallas). Native of Asia.

Book  (15 Sep 1910)  Page(s) Vol. 1, Part I, p. 3-4.  Includes photo(s).
 
1 — ROSA PERSICA Michx.
Rosa persica ; caule gracili, debili, sarmentoso ; ramulis pubescentibus ; aculeis pluribus, aequalibus, gracilibus, flavis ; foliis sessilibus, simplicibus, lanceolatis, simpliciter serratis, pubescentibus ; stipulis abortivis ; floribus solitariis; pedunculis aciculatis ; calycis tubo globoso, hispido ; lobis simplicibus, lanceolatis, dorso setosis ; petalis parvis, luteis, macula rubro-brunea prope basim praeditis ; stylis liberis ; fructu parvo, globoso, hispido ; sepalis persistentibus, erectis.
R. persica Michaux in Jussieu, Gen. Pl. Apx. p. 452 (1789). — Gmelin, Syst. vol. i. p. 855 (1796). — Koehne, Deutsche Dendrol. p. 274 (1893).— Rehder in Bailey, Cycl. Am. Hort. vol. iv. p. 1549 (1902). — C. K. Schneider, III. Handbuch Laubholzk. vol. i. p. 547 (1906).
R. berberifolia Pallas in Nov. Act. Petrop. vol. x. p. 379, t. 10 (1792). — Roessig, Die Rosen , No. 53 (1802-1820). — Thory in Redouté, Roses , vol. i. p. 27, t. (1817). — Lindley, Ros. Monogr. p. 1, No. 1 (1820). — Ledebour, Icon. vol. iv. t. 370 (1833). — Crepin in Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg. vol. xi. pp. 101, 102 (Primit . Monogr. Ros. fasc. ii. pp. 216, 217) (1872). — Regel in Act. Hort. Petrop. vol. v. p. 381 (Tent. Ros. Monogr. p. 97 [1877]) (1878). — Masters in Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg. vol. xxviii. pt. 2, p. 135 (1889). — Hooker f. in Bot. Mag. vol. cxvi. t. 7096 (1890).
R. simplicifolia Salisbury, Prodr. Stirp. Hort. Allert. p. 359 (1796); Parad. Lond. t. 101 (1808). — Nicholson in Gard. Chron, n. ser. vol. ii. p. 468, fig. 100 (1885 ).
Hulthemia berberifolia Dumortier in Herrmann, Dissert, p. 13 (1824). — Ledebour, FI. Ross. vol. ii. p. 72 (1844). — Boissier, FI. Orient, vol. ii. p. 668 (1872). — Deseglise in Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg. vol. xv. p. 191 (Cat. Rais. Ros. p. 22
[1877]) (1876).
Lowea berberifolia Lindley in Bot. Reg. vol. xv. t. 1261 (1829).

Stems slender, sarmentose ; branches pubescent ; prickles many, slender, sub-equal, straw-yellow. Leaves simple, sessile, oblong, lanceolate or linear, simply serrated, pubescent ; stipules abortive. Flowers solitary ; peduncles aciculate. Calyx-tube globose, hispid ; lobes lanceolate, simple, setose on the back. Corolla 1-1½ in. diameter; petals lemon-yellow, with a red-brown spot near the base. Styles free, densely villous. Fruit globose, hispid, ½ in. diameter ; sepals persistent, erect.
Rosa persica differs from all other Roses by its simple leaves and abortive stipules, and has often been regarded as the representative of a distinct genus. It ranges from Persia eastwards to the Altai Mountains and the Soongarian Desert, reaching an altitude of 5,000 feet. It is found in abundance near Amadin and in the fields at the foot of the Elvina Mountains, where it grows in bushes of about three feet in height. Unfortunately it is not hardy in England. It was first mentioned by Jussieu in his Genera Plantarum in 1789. It was introduced into France by Michaux and Olivier, and into England in 1790 by Sir Joseph Banks.

Magazine  (Jun 1908)  Page(s) 236.  
 
NOTES SUR LES ROSES DE CHINE (1)
...Groupe I. — Simplicifoliœ. — Il ne contient qu'une seule espèce, R. simplicifolia (R. berberifolia) qui, malgré qu’elle soit répandue en Sibérie, en Afghanistan et en Perse, n’a pas encore été trouvée en Chine..... G. Nicholson
(Traduit par M. B. Bellefin, 26, cours Morand, à Lyon. Traductions anglaises, allemandes, italiennes et russes.)
(1) Journal of the royal hort. Society.

Magazine  (Aug 1906)  Page(s) 318.  
 
Rosa berberifolia. — Espèce rare dans les cultures. Très curieuse. Ne se plaît point partout. Demande un sol peu profond, bien drainé. M. Brun, à Lyon, en a un ou deux beaux sujets dans un sol caillouteux argilo-siliceux-calcaire. M. Allard, à Angers, en possède aussi un beau sujet planté sur un enrochement.
La place de l’hybride de l’espèce précédente, connu sous le nom dé Rosier de Hardy, est tout indiquée ici.

Book  (1899)  Page(s) 162.  
 
Simplicifolia, Rugosa, rose

Article (magazine)  (1897)  Page(s) 124-125.  
 
A. Sous-genre EXSTIPULAE
1. Rosa berberifolia Pall.
a. Feuille. — Poils (2) courts, simples, 1-cell. à parois épaisses, peu abondants, se rencontrent surtout à la face inférieure de la nervure médiane. Poils glandulifères nuls. Épiderme supérieur recticurviligne, d'une épaisseur de 40-50 μ, à cellules très inégales ; épiderme inférieur recticurviligne, d'une épaisseur de 30-42 μ, à cellules très inégales ; cuticules épaisses. Stomates sur les deux épidermes de la feuille, d'une longueur de 35-36 μ, plus grands que les cellules environnantes, ordinairement inclus. Cristaux prismatiques, abondants surtout sous les épidermes des nervures. Mésophylle centrique, d'une épaisseur moyenne de 130 μ, comprenant 5-6 assises cellulaires. Nervures secondaire et médiane à faisceau
libéro-ligneux simple, non immergé, pourvu à sa partie libérienne d'un arc mécanique, excepté dans les échantillons cultivés.

b. Tige. — Epiderme exfolié dès la seconde année, remplacé par un périderme puissant et mou. Parenchyme cortical à cellules écrasées et irrégulières, à parois épaisses. Ilots mécaniques péricycliques (3). Liber non cristalligène et sans libres, composé de bandes tangentielles à parois épaisses alternant irrégulièrement avec d'autres bandes minces. Plan ligneux du bois secondaire : parenchyme ligneux nul ; fibres disposées en files rayonnantes, vaisseaux petits, à ponctuations finement aréolées, disposés sans ordre apparent dans toute l'épaisseur des plages ligneuses. Rayons médullaires de deux sortes, les uns larges formés par 2-3 rangées de cellules ; les autres simples inégalement espacés et de longueur variable. Moelle à cellules petites, à parois de moyenne épaisseur. Cellules tannifères non diffé-
renciées.

(2) La répartition et la quantité des poils ont une faible valeur en classification. Si j'en fais mention, c'est simplement pour attirer l'attention du lecteur sur leur existence.
(3) Ces Ilots ont été surtout formés par le liber primaire.

Magazine  (1890)  Page(s) Tab 7096.  Includes photo(s).
 
Rosa berberifolia (by John D. Hooker)
Native of Persia and Western Turkestan.
Nat. Ord. Rosacea. — Tribe Roseae
Genus Rosa, Linn. ; (Benth. et Hook.f. Gen. PI. vol. i. p. 625.)
Rosa berberifolia ; foliis subsessilibus simplicibus cuneato-obovatis oblongisve glaucis apices versus serratis dentatisve, stipulis 0, floribus solitariis, ovario globoso sepalisque lanceolatis simplicibus hispido-setosis, petalis orbiculatis aureis ima basi macula purpurea v. sanguinea notatis, ovariis glaberrimis, stylis liberis inclusis pilis flexuosis hirsutis, stigmate dilatato reniformi, fructu globoso, carpellis oblique ovoideis glaberrimis.
Rosa berberifolia, Pallas in Nov. Act. Petrop. vol. x. p. 379, t. 10, f. 5 ; Redoute et Thor. Ros. vol. i. p. 87, cum Ic; DC. Prodr. vol. ii. p. 602; Ledeb. Fl. Alt. vol. ii. p. 224; Ic. Plant. Ross. t. 370; Ait. Hort. Kew, Ed. 2, vol. iii. p. 258 ; Lindl. Ros. Monogr. p. 1 ; Wallroth Monogr. Ros. p. 25; Kar. & Kiril. Enum. Plant. Fl. Alt. No. 322; Aitchison in Trans. Linn. Soc. Ser. 2, vol. iii. p. 62 ; Masters in Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg. vol. xxviii. ined. ; in Gard. Chron. 1889, vol. ii. p. 9, fig. 1, 2 ; and p. 78, fig. 13.
R. simplicifolia, Salisb. Hort. Allert. 359; Parad. t. 101 ; Olivier Voy. vol. v p. 49, t. 43.
Hulthemia berberifolia, Dumort. Dissert. Tournay, 1824, p. 8 (ex Endlich. Gen.); Ledeb. Fl. Ross. vol. ii. p. 72; Boiss. Fl. Orient, vol. ii. p. 668.
Lowea berberifolia, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. t. 1261.
Rhodopsis, Bunge in Ledeb. Fl. Alt. vol. ii. p. 224.

Few plants were more asked after during my Directorship of the Royal Gardens than the simple-leaved Rose, a plant that had often been in cultivation but lost, and which, in so far as I knew did not then exist in cultivation.Discovered by Pallas about the middle of the last century, it was introduced into England about 1790 through the exertions of Sir Joseph Banks, and was figured by Salisbury in his Hortus Paradisaicus (t. 101). Nothing further appears to have been heard of it as a cultivated plant till the publication of the beautiful figure in the Botanical Register, from a plant that flowered in 1828 in the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens, and which was raised from seed sent by Sir Henry Willock from Persia. Dr. Lindley, writing eloquently and pathetically, says of the plant " that it resists cultivation in a remarkable manner, submitting permanently neither to budding, nor grafting, nor laying, nor striking from cuttings, nor, in short, to any of those operations," one or other of which succeed with other plants. Drought does not suit it ; it does not thrive in wet ; heat has no beneficial effect, cold no prejudicial influence ; care does not improve it, neglect does not injure it. Of all the numerous seedlings that were raised from Sir H. Willock's seeds and distributed, scarcely a plant remains alive. Two are still growing in a peat border in the Chiswick Garden ; but they are languishing and unhealthy ; and we confess that observation of them in a living' state, for nearly four years, has not suggested a single method of improving the cultivation of the species."
On the other hand, I have the pleasure of citing, in his own words, the success of Mr. Watson, Assistant Curator of Kew, in both cultivating and propagating this interesting plant:-
"At Kew this rose is planted in a raised border of rich porous loam in a cool green-house where Cape bulbs are grown. It is exposed to full sunshine all the year round. During summer the soil is kept moist, but after October, when the leaves fall off, it is kept as dry as possible, and the plant remains dormant until March."
"We failed to propagate this rose by means of grafts or cuttings, although tried in the various ways which answer with other roses. Several plants have, however, been obtained from the suckers developed by the old plants. These suckers grow under the soil for about a foot before pushing through and forming leaves. If the underground part is cut through after the sucker is about six months old, roots are formed on the severed part."
Returning to the history of the species, I find from a note in the late J. Gay's Herbarium now at Kew, that Professor Bertoloni, writing in 1831, when Director of the Bolgona Botanical Gardens, mentions the Rosa berberifolia as bieng in cultivation there, and as having been for sixteen years previous to that date, but its origin is unknown. For the latest notice I must refer to Brigade-Surgeon Aitchison's "Account of the botany of the Affghan Boundary Commission," to which that energetic botanist was Naturalist, published in the Transactions of the Linnean Society cited above. Ap. p. 62, it is described as the most characteristic shrub of the country (N. Persia) from Bala Morghab westwards over the whole Badghis the Hari rud valley into Khorasan, up to an altitude of 5000 feet. That is, from about Long. 63° to 60° E., where, as that gentleman informs me, it forms' low dense patches. From the region is stretches north-westwards into Western Turkestan, finding its northern and eastern limits in the Soongarian Altai, about 90°- E. and 45° N. The specimen here figured was from plants raised by seed which Dr. Aitchison sent in to Kew in 1885, which flowered in May 1889, and which are of a more straggling habit than the native specimens.
For an excellent summary of the point in the Rosa berberifolia differs from its congeners so greatly as to have suggested its generic separation, I must refer to Dr. Masters' "Remarks on the Morphology of Rosa berberifolia" in the Bulletin of the Botanical Society of Belgium. After stating that according to some botanists the plant has no leaves, - to others that it has not sipules, - to others that the stipules constitute the leaves, - and to still others that the spines constitute the stipules, his own careful analysis shows that the stipules are suppressed, but potentially present, and may possibly be developed in vigorous cultivated specimens. - J.D.H.

Fig. 1, Petal ; 2 and 3, stamens; 4, carpel; 5, fruit; 6, achene :— all but fig. 5 enlarged.

Book  (1885)  Page(s) 2.  
 
Rosier à feuilles simples. Rosa simplicifolia. Caractères spécifiques. --Arbuste de 50 à 70 centimètres, d'une couleur glauque; branches menues, à pubescence disparaissant sur les ramilles; aiguillons menus, arqués, presque décurrents à leur base, souvent géminés à la naissance des feuilles et des ramilles, quelquefois composés; feuilles sessiles, ovales, inermes, duveteuses, simplement dentées à l'extrémité; stipules nulles; fleurs solitaires, en coupe étoilée, d'un jaune foncé, maculées de cramoisi obscur à l'onglet des pétales, exhalant une odeur douce, dit Olivier; étamines peu nomreuses; styles velus.

Rough translation to English:
Rosier à feuilles simples. Rosa simplicifolia. Specific characteristics. -- Shrub 50 to 70 centimeters, bluish green; slender branches, with pubescence disappearing on twigs; narrow prickles are arched, almost decurrent at the base, often paired at the point of origin of new growth, sometimes compound; sessile leaves are oval, free of prickles, downy, and simply toothed at the end; lacks noticeable stipules; solitary flowers have a starry shape and are a deep yellow color, stained with dark crimson on the base of the petals, having a sweet fragrance according to Olivier; numerous little stamens; hairy styles.

Magazine  (1883)  Page(s) 214.  
 
Rosa berberifolia -- I think Mr. Wm. Paul must possess this Rose, because I sent him seed of it just two years ago. I had received it from Teheran, Persia, where it grows on sandy hills. I have sown some of it, but I lost the plants last year. It is very delicate. I also sent some seed of it to Mr. Ellacombe, who, I hope, will have been more successful with it than I have been. If your correspondent cannot obtain R. berberifolia, I would recommend him to procure R. Hardyi, which is a seedling of R. berberifolia, a cross from R. clynophylla, raised by Mr. Hardy about fifty years ago. Although delicate, it is much more robust than its parent, and must be in the possession of English rosarians. If not, it can be procured in Lyons. -- Jean Sisley, Monplaisir, Lyons.