Discovered by Don Gers (1991).

Unknown or unspecified class

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“General Vallejo’s
Rose of Castile”
Planted in several places along the “Alameda” [avenue] leading from West Spain St. to “Lachryma Montis” the home of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in Sonoma. The “Alameda roses” were contemporary with the General and also an extensive collection of climbing roses that extended from the house to the west but these are now gone. Both the State Parks staff and myself believe this is the ‘Rose of Castile’ the General mentioned and held close to his heart. I do not believe the ‘Autumn Damask’ passing as the ‘Rose of Castile’ is correct for several reasons.
First, the President of Spain's Rose Society answered my email inquiry for the identity of the ‘Rose of Castile’ with historical references in Spanish identifying it as Rosa gallica. Second, the rose is important to the people of Mexico because of their national tradition of the Virgin of Guadalupe. In that tradition Juan Diego in 1531 (just 10 years after Cortez conquered the Aztecs) obeying a request of the Mother of Jesus who miraculously appeared to him climbed a mountain to pluck roses to present to the Bishop of Mexico City. Previously the Bishop had secretly specified a sign from God which was “Roses from Castile” which Juan Diego now brought wrapped in his serape and presented to the Bishop.
Third, the Franciscan Father Junipero Serra wrote effusively of the “Rosales de Castillo” he encountered traveling north into Alta California in 1769 with Gaspar de Portola. Later these roses were identified scientifically as Rosa californica but the key point is both they and “Rosales de Castillo” to the 16th century Spanish of Mexico were single flowered pink roses, not mistakenly double like the ‘Autumn Damask’
And finally that roses grew wild on the mountains surrounding Mexico City was confirmed by Alexander von Humboldt and Aime’ Bonpland in 1803-1804 when they collected and named Rosa montezumae, a single pink species painted by P. J. Redoute’ from the Humboldt and Bonpland specimen. Though I’ve not been able to locate a living specimen of Rosa montezumae for reference, I see a resemblance between Redoute’s illustration and “General Vallejo’s Rose of Castile”. And the description mentions R. montezumae is “very sweetly scented” as is “General Vallejo’s Rose of Castile”. I know of no dog roses with such a scent and believe the comparison spurious.