Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 2(3): 147
Botanical Reconnaissance of Southern Illinois
Ernest J. Palmer

Rosa setigera Michx. This form, with glabrous foliage, is much less common than the last, but is occasionally found in low woods and thickets, especially in the southern part of the region.

Rosa setigera var. tomentosa Torr. & Gr. Rather common throughout in thickets and open ground, especially in the northern portions. This is the common trailing or climbing Rose of the Mississippi Valley.

New York State Museum Bulletin. Nos. 243-244 (Mar-Apr 1921) p. 43

Rosa rubifolia R. Br.
Open swampy ground east of Oneida. House 6446, July 11, 1919.
Apparently native, and distinguished from R. setigera Michx. by its pale, almost white, velvety under surfaces of the leaves.

The Natural History of Plants: Their Forms, Growth and Distribution, Volume 1, Part 2, p. 673
From the German of Anton Kerner von Marilaun
by F. W. Oliver, M.A., D.Sc.

Some climbing roses (e.g. Rosa setigera) have this remarkable peculiarity, that their new shoots at first seek the darkest places, turning their apices away from the bright sunshine, growing into the shaded nooks behind the trellis-work, and not inclining again towards the light until they are fully grown. In this way the advantage is obtained that the shoots originally turning from the light enter the gaps of the undergrowth and of the trellis-work, while later on, when lateral branches arise from them, they are excellently supported.

The USDA Plants database gives two subspecies for Rosa setigera Michx.: Rosa setigera Michx. var. setigera and Rosa setigera Michx. var. tomentosa Torr. & A. Gray
Source: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ROSE2

ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System) considers the above subspecies to be obsolete and treats them as synonyms of Rosa setigera Michx. Other synonyms given are: Rosa setigera var. serena E.J. Palmer & Steyerm., Rosa rubifolia R. Br. and Rosa setigera var. glabra Torr. & A. Gray
Source: http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=24839