Pronounced: RO-zuh seh-ti-JEE-ra
Long, arching canes carry clusters of pink flowers through sunny thickets. Look for leaves with three leaflets and a raised column in the flower center to distinguish this scrambling native rose.
Wild Climbing Rose field photograph. Select the photo to enlarge.
Family Rosaceae · rose family
Life cycle Perennial woody shrub / climber
Blooms June–July in the Upper Midwest
Size Often 3–4 feet as a sprawling shrub; can climb higher with support
Light & habitat Sun to partial shade; thickets, woodland edges and open ground
Other names
Climbing Wild Rose · Climbing Prairie Rose · Illinois Rose
Size and flowering time vary with conditions. NC State Extension.
Reported observations may include cultivated plants and do not define the full native range.
Compare leaves, prickles, flower stalks, stipules and hips across similar regional roses. Use several features together alongside the field photographs; individual plants vary and roses can hybridize.
Click or tap the chart to enlarge it. Botanical details are shown at different scales.
Follow an arching cane to an entire leaf. Most leaves have three toothed leaflets, occasionally five, with the terminal leaflet on a longer stalk.
In an open flower, look for the raised central column of united styles among the many stamens. Combine this feature with the leaflet count and scrambling growth; pink petals alone are not enough.
Look along sunny thickets, woodland margins, fencerows and open edges in early to midsummer. Canes can spread over nearby plants instead of standing as a compact upright bush.
Include a wide view when photographing it. The way the stems extend through surrounding vegetation is part of the identification.
Native to central and eastern North America, including Illinois and parts of southeastern Canada. Occurrence and native status vary locally.
Reported U.S. distribution
AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV
State records describe documented distribution, not presence in every county. A state record alone does not establish that every population there is native. The observation map shows reported sightings and may include cultivated plants.
NC State Extension — distribution
University of Michigan — regional records and habitat
Fresh blossoms can be a strong rose pink; older flowers often fade toward pale pink. A single cluster may hold several shades at once.
Compare the flower centers and leaves alongside petal color. Fading does not make a blossom a different rose species.
Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana) is usually a lower shrub with more leaflets. Its flower center lacks the conspicuous raised column seen here. Compare Prairie Rose →
Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) also scrambles and has united styles, but typically bears many smaller white flowers, more leaflets and conspicuously fringed stipules at the leaf base. Compare Multiflora Rose →
Use the complete leaf, flower center, stipules and growth form together.
Flower visitors include bees and flies; this photograph records a beetle on a blossom. An insect visit is useful to document, although a photograph alone does not establish that the visitor pollinated the flower.
This rose is functionally dioecious: individual plants function as male or female even though the flowers can look similar. Successful pollination allows female plants to form hips.
Compare the flower center and complete leaves, then practice recognizing Wild Climbing Rose and other wildflowers in the quiz.
