Book  (1976)  Page(s) 102.  
 
R. virginiana Mill.
- Gard. Dict. ed. VIII (1768), no. 10
(R. lucida Ehrh., R. lucida alba hort., R. humilis lucida Best., R. pensylvanica Andrews non Wangenheim et non Michx.)
Büsche: ungefähr 1,5 m hoch, mit aufrechten rötlich-zimtfarbenen Trieben; Stacheln hakenförmig gebogen, an jungen zweigen häufig borstenähnlich.
Blätter: 7 bis 9 Blättchen, glänzend grün, von elliptisch bis umgehrt eiförmig, 2 bis 6 cm lang, an den Rändern spitz gesägt, Unterseite an den Adern eingesenkt.
Blüten: einzelständig oder einige zusammen, hellrosa. Blütezeit Juni/Juli.
Früchte: flach abgerundet, 1,5 cm breit, glatt, rot, Fruchtstiel drüsig-borstig.
Verbreitungsgebiet: Nordamerika (von Süd-Quebec bis Georgia und im Westen bis Missouri).
Eine der ersten amerikanischen Wildrosen, die in Europa kultiviert wurden (zuerst 172^4 in England) und als Zierstrauch weite Verbreitung fand.

Translation:
Bushes: about 1,5 m tall, with upright reddish cinnamon-coloured canes; prickles curved in hook-shape, often bristle-like on young branches.
Foliage: 7 to 9 leaflets, glossy green, elliptical to obovate, 2 to 6 cm long, acutely serrated on the edges, sunk beneath along the veins.
Blooms: solitary or several together, light pink. Blooming period June/July.
Fruit: flat rounded, 1,5 cm across, smooth, red. Fruit stalk glandular-bristly.
Area of distribution: Northern America (from southern Quebec to Georgia and in the West until Missouri).
One of the first american wild roses which was cultivated in Europe (first in England in 1724) and was distributed widely as a decorative shrub.

Book  (1966)  Page(s) 209.  
 
A close relative, which suckers up around R. carolina plena in our garden, is the shiny-leaved R. lucida or virginiana. It is a real treasure, one of the easiest and most amiable plants; and the first American species to be introduced into Europe. It was mentioned by Parkinson in 1640 as the Virginian Bryer Rose; it had shining green leaves, bright cyclamen-pink single flowers, and was later painted by Redoute. Gertrude Jekyll grew it at Munstead and considered it one of the most delightful plants in her garden. Our original plant came from Ilam, in Christchurch, and quickly settled down in Auckland. Quite accidentally we planted it in semi-shade; it prefers this position, thrives splendidly, and completely clothes an awkward corner. The glossy, deeply-toothed leaves-shiny, thin, reddish-brown stems-and clusters of single, cyclamen-pink flowers with long sepals and creamy-yellow stamens, combine to make a charming plant. Add to this the beauty of the vividly coloured autumn foliage, the shining round red heps, and the fact that these remain on the reddish stems when the leaves have fallen; and you have a rose that is well worth the space in this corner of the garden.

Website/Catalog  (1948)  Page(s) 50.  
 
Rosa
—lucida. 5 ft. (Virginia Rose) sandy to silty clay loam, moist, well drained, pH 6.0-7.0, sun- slight shade.

Book  (1940)  Page(s) 437.  
 
R. virginiana Mill. Shrub to 2 m., with few or no suckers; prickles often hooked, only young shoots bristly; lfts. 7-9, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 2-6 cm. long, usually acute at ends, serrate with ascending teeth, dark green and lustrous above, glabrous or pubescent on veins beneath; upper stipules dilated: fls. usually few, sometimes solitarym 5-6 cm. across; pedicels and receptacle glandular-hispid: fr. 1-1,5 cm. across. Fl. VI-VII. W.R.197, t(c), 199,t., 308, t(c). N.D.7:t.7,f.2(c). Gt.56:t.1564,f.2(c). Gn.55:428; 71:493. B.B.2: 285. K.S. 175. (R. lucida Ehrh., R. humilis var. l. (Ehrh.) Best, R. blanda var. Willmottiana Bak.) Nfd. to Va., Ala. and Mo. Intr. before 1807. Zone III. Handsome Rose with lustrous lvs. and bright pink fls.

Article (magazine)  (1938)  Page(s) 79.  
 
The American tetraploid rose species fall into three distinct groups...(1)R. carolina and R. virginiana in the north-eastern region...

Book  (1937)  Page(s) 80.  
 
virginiana Mill. (Carol.) [pollen quality] 75-90% [ploidy] 28

Book  (1936)  Page(s) 432, 740.  
 
p. 432: Luisante simple (cinnamomea) Vibert 1826; vivid pink, medium size, single, cluster-flowered, autumn-bloomer, few prickles, foliage ovoid and ruffled, branches bright reddish brown, growth 7/10, bushy, 1,50 m. American swamp rose. Variety of R. rapa?

p. 740: Virginia red (?) in England before 1759; red, single.

Magazine  (Feb 1920)  Page(s) 52-53, vol. 47.  
 
Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 47:52-53 (1920) 
Per Axel Rydberg
ROSA VIRGINIANA Mill.
This has usually been regarded as a synonym of R. blanda.This may have been due partly to the fact that Miller described R. virginiana as unarmed, partly perhaps to the fact that at least one of the specimens on which R. blanda was originally based belonged to the species here treated. Another character assigned to R. virginiana by Miller, viz., "the shining leaves," does not very well apply to R. blanda as usually understood. The name R. virginiana Mill, was substituted for R. lucida Ehrh. in the New Gray's Manual by Robinson and Fernald. I therefore wrote to Professor Fernald, asking him kindly to let me know the reasons for the change made. In answer I received the following letter, which I take the liberty of publishing:

Rosa virginiana Miller, Gard. Dict. ed. 8, no. 10 (1769), is represented by a fine sheet in the herbarium of the British Museum, marked "Rosa virginiana Mill Dict. No. 10!" James Britten and J. G. Baker who called my attention to it say there is absolutely no question about its authentity. There are three fruiting branches and they are perfectly good R. lucida Ehrh. Crepin recognized it and has written on the sheet "R. lucida Ehrh. Cr." and J. G. Baker (Jour. Linn. Soc. XXXVII. 74) in his Revised Classification of Roses so treats it. I took a photograph—an excellent one nearly life-size—and it shows the characteristic broad-base and curved infra-stipular prickles at two points.

It is therefore plain that R. virginiana Mill, is the oldest name for the rose usually known as R. lucida Ehrh. To me it seems that R. carolinensis Marsh, applies better to this species than does either of the two species described by Linnaeus under the name of R. Carolina. R. rapa Bosc is apparently a double form of this species.

Mr. Best reduced this species to a variety of R. humilis. He had collected a great number of rose-specimens in New Jersey. Some of these were presented to Columbia University. These show many gradations between R. lucida Ehrh. and R. humilis Marsh, (i.e., the original R. Carolina L.), and also between these and another form, R. humilis villosa Best (R. Lyoni Pursh). Best concluded that all should be regarded as a single variable species. He has been followed by N. L. Britton and C. K. Schneider, the latter using the name R. virginiana lucida Best. I doubt if Best ever used said combination, at least in print. In my opinion several of Mr. Best's specimens are of hybrid origin, and this circumstance would give a satisfactory explanation for the intergradation, which is rarely met with elsewhere.

Rosa blanda Willmottiana Baker, according to the figure, has nothing to do with R. blanda, but belongs without doubt to R. virginiana.

Book  (1919)  Page(s) 446.  
 
R. VIRGINIANA, Miller.
(R. lucida, Ehrhart.)
A shrub 3 to 6 ft. high, forming a dense mass of erect stems, armed usually at the base of the leaves with straight or slightly hooked spines, and with scattered bristly prickles on the young sucker stems. Leaves glossy green above, 3 to 5 ins. long, composed of usually seven, sometimes nine leaflets, which are ovate or narrowly oval, 1 to 2 ins. long ; rather coarsely toothed except towards the base ; quite smooth above, often the same below, but occasionally downy on the midrib as well as on the common stalk. Flowers in clusters of often three, sometimes solitary ; each 2 to 2½ ins. across, pink ; stalk and calyx-tube smooth or glandular ; sepals 1 in. long, with long, slender points, glandular and downy. Fruit orange-shaped, ½ in. wide, red, crowned at first with spreading sepals which fall away when the fruit is ripe.
Native of Eastern N. America, and probably the first of American roses introduced to Britain. It is a useful plant for forming thickets in the wild garden, and its glossy green leaves are always pleasing. In habit it resembles R. Carolina, but is easily distinguished by its glossy leaves and bristly stems. It is more nearly allied to R. humilis, but is a more robust shrub with more glossy leaves. Many of the flowering portions of R. virginiana are quite unarmed.

Book  (1916)  Page(s) 2991.  
 
virginiana Mill. [the section on Rosa was written by Alfred Rehder of the Arnold Arboretum]
Shrub 6 ft. high with few or no suckers. Prickles sometimes hooked. Leaflets 7-9, elliptic to obovate-elliptic, dark green and shining above, thickish, often slightly pubscent beneath, ½-2 inches long. Stipules somewhat dilated. Flowers usually few or solitary, about 2 inches across. Sepals usually entire. Fruit depressed-globose, glandular-hispid. Native to: Newfoundland to New York and Pennsylvania. Handsome in summer with its shining foliage and bright pink flowers. Ornamental in winter with brownish red shoots and red fruits remaining plump until the following spring.
var. alba Willmott has white flowers and green shoots.
var. plena Hort. With double flowers.