Magazine  (2000)  Page(s) 18. Vol 94, part 1..  
 
Peter Harkness. Favourite Roses for Hedges.
'Scabrosa'....

Book  (1999)  Page(s) 131.  
 
'Sam Gough, Victoria.  Parentage And All That.
Scabrosa' is a foundling from the Harkness nursery and I have raised a number of seedlings from it. Three quarters of them were very much Rugosa, the others, at first, seemed to suggest 'Pimpinellifolia' but as the plants grew larger that didn't seem right. Most of the Rugosa types only flowered once, with a few giving odd intermittent flowers later in the summer. One solitary seedling gives more, but still not as frequently as 'Scabrosa'.  Many of the Rugosa types set seed in varying numbers and when these were gathered and opened up, the seed content varied from six to over sixty. Most of the hips were rounded at the base rather than flat as is usual in Rugosas and there was also a distinct neck, and when the hips were sectioned, about a quarter of them had a small dome at the bottom of the hip; while in two there was a distinct dome. This is a distinct characteristic of the  Phlatyrhodan group represented by the rose 'Roxburghii' (at one time known as Mycrophylla ). On one plant the hips were partly covered with strong bristles, again a very strong characteristic of 'Roxburghii' but strangely they had only a very slight dome at the base of the hip.  The plants that were of the Roxburghii type did not set seed although one held a few hips for a while.  The leaves of all the plants were either Rugosa or non Rugosa.  The thorns (prickles) were, in about a quarter of the cases bristly like a rugosa while the others were more like what one sees on most varieties though there was some variation.  From the information I have gathered I believe that 'Scabrosa' is a seedling from the rose 'Micrugrosa' (said to be a R. Rugosa x Roxburghii). This rose flowers over  long period and this would account for Scabrosa's continuous flowering and dilution of the repeat flowering genes in the 'Scabrosa' seedlings and would account for them being once only flowering

Website/Catalog  (1998)  Page(s) 88.  
 
Description... A selected Rosa rugosa seedling... immense cerise single blooms... virtually immune to disease...

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 235.  Includes photo(s).

Book  (Sep 1996)  Page(s) 22.  Includes photo(s).
 
Description... single, fragrant, large hips...

Book  (Nov 1994)  Page(s) 118.  
 
Prior to 1939. Description... Flowers: Single, large (5-1/2 inches), of violaceous crimson, with the usual cream stamens, followed by immense orange-red heps. Certainly the grossest development so far among the forms and near hybrids of the species, in leaf, flower, and fruit.

Book  (Nov 1993)  Page(s) 33.  
 
Scabrosa Rugosa. The biggest single flowers of all... huge saucers of fuchsia-pink petals which give way to equally large red hips...

Book  (11 Jun 1993)  Page(s) 50.  Includes photo(s).
 
R. rugosa seedling. Introduced by Harkness & Co. (England) 1950. Description... a chance seedling of unknown background but in essence a delightful and exaggerated version of the species rugosa... very large, deep crimson-pink blossoms...

Book  (Apr 1993)  Page(s) 536.  
 
Hybrid Rugosa (Shrub), mauve, 1950, (R. rugosa scabrosa hort.); Origin unknown; Harkness. Flowers mauve-pink, stamens light sulphur, single (5 petals), large (5 in.) blooms in clusters of 5 or more; fragrant (carnation); foliage light, glossy, soft; fruit large, bright red; very bushy (5 ft.) growth; recurrent bloom.

Book  (Feb 1993)  Page(s) 6 & 7, 108.  Includes photo(s).
 
The mysterious and beautiful R. rugosa scabrosa appeared in the Harkness nursery from an unknown source, and was introduced to the public in 1950.