Using Of The Rose: History And Value
Roses dated back to at least the Roman time from somewhere in either the Middle East and or china. Roses belong to the Rosaceae Family. The Rose family has about 4828 estimated known and unknown species including fruits like plums, cherries and peaches to name a few. Roses flowers have 5 petals with the exception of 1 rose that only has 4 petals being a silky rose. This a rose exception is specially native to south-western china and part of India. Wild roses like many other plants have many problem, with some of the problems facing the wild rose is attack from both pest and disease. Due to the fact that they host a high number of these problems the rose we see in most gardens have been special breed to reduce this problem.
Even with all the cross breeding to try to eliminate the disease and pest , they are still damaged by aphids and other insect pest as well as fungus disease to name a few but they fare much better then their ancestry. So therefore with this cross-breeding as well as companion planting and sprays, both natural and chemical, this has been reduced even more. Most roses we know of today are not the roses from time long past partly due to this selective breeding. The most common recognised rose of this century, is the double rose bush. The flower being made up of at least 2 sets of 5 petals, making it a much more full flower then the single rose species. Not to be confused with a single stem rose. This change is due to the selective breeding they have be done to increased blooming time, fragrant, more disease and pest tolerant, and as well as the double roses. Even today it continues to increase colours range, including both colour changing, colour tipped petals and easier noticed the throne-less variety.
Roses brush produce fruit know as Rose-hips which is a very useful fruit if not well recognised. Roses have many uses not only for their beauty and fragrances. They also been used as money or trade, partly due to the high demand on them, due to their many uses, from decoration to medical uses, to cosmetic uses as well as food and drinks. Even Rose Water, a by-product from removing the essential oil, was used for currency. Roses have been used to divided countries and then reunited them once again. Like in the war of the roses in England, where the colour of the rose was used to identify the York House from the Lancaster House and uniting the kingdom and roses (double Rose, both red and white) by the Tudor House. Roses are also used as a symbol of youth, love and beauty.
Some of the medical uses of roses and rosewater are for panic attacks, vaginal itches. Rose-hips comes from the the rose plant. The rose-hips is a great source of vitamin C. Rose-hips has been used for kidney tonics, urinary dysfunction, colic or even cough along with period problems. Roses also work on the digestive and nervous system, so it has been show to help with depression, insomnia and even fatigue, as well with sexual desire. Essential oil of the rose has many good properties too, including anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral, which makes it ideal for both medical and cosmetic uses.
Just when you think the rose has run out of useful part we then find the leaves of the plant also have their uses too. Some of the cosmetics uses are acne cream/rinses, night cream, day cream, hair herbal steam cleaning, facial conditioning rinse, eye wash for sore eyes, herbal baths and old fashion cold cream. It is even good for detoxifying and soothing as well as tightening pore and retaining moisture within the skin “maybe” even to the extent of help prevent sunburn (not confirmed yet). However the most famous is of cause perfume and this has stayed the same for may centuries. Rose are an eatable flower and fruit. Due to this it has been used for cooking as well as drinks from Middle East to France to UK and even America. They are used in a variety of dishes from jam to soups, jelly to syrups and even creams to ice-creams, and we can't forget the eatable sugar coated roses on top of some wedding cakes, not to be confused with the one made out of the icing fondant. They are used in many sweets including Turkish delights, nougat and gumdrops and many more within the Middle East. Both roses and rose leaves are also used in teas, cordials, wines and cocktails.
Rose tea can be made by either adding rose flowers or petal to normal tea or by added to other herbs to make it a more herbal tea.Just when you think its all about the actual plant we find roses even have meanings. These meanings can change depending on either number or colour or whether it has thorns or not. There is even different means to how open the rose, rose buds to full blooms. A single rose any colour means simplicity and gratitude, where as a Thorn-less means love at first sight. However a white rose bud means girlhood, and yet the red rose bud means purity and loveliness.
As for the colour, the meaning for red rose is beauty love respect and courage with dark red being unconscious beauty. A single red rose meaning I love you. Pink means perfect happiness, grace, joy and sweetness and admiration. Now for the yellow it means are both good and bad as you can see here, with meanings being from friendship, jealousy, joy and new beginnings. Then we get into the darkest roses being the black roses mean death and farewell. Where as blue rose mean unattainable and impossible which fit when you see how rare they are to find within nature its self. And then the meanings can change again when there is more then one colour on a flower.
When you consider all that has been stated here which is probably only a small portion of the value of a rose, you can understand why the saying “ there are many flowers in a man's life but only one rose”. For a rose does so many things to benefit our health, life and value, as well as happiness.
