Japanese rose

Rosa multiflora, the multiflora or Japanese rose, is a vigorous deciduous shrub of the Rosaceae family native to eastern Asia, particularly Japan, Korea, and eastern China. It forms a sprawling, arching thicket two to five metres tall, with long, recurved, prickle-armed canes. The alternate pinnate leaves bear five to eleven elliptical, toothed leaflets, with fringed stipules at the petiole base that are diagnostic for the species. In early summer the plant produces large, conical panicles of many small, fragrant white or pale pink flowers, each about two centimetres across with five petals and a yellow centre. These mature into small, bright red, roughly spherical hips about six millimetres in diameter that persist into winter and are eagerly taken by birds.