Burnet rose

Rosa spinosissima (syn. R. pimpinellifolia), the burnet rose, is a deciduous shrub in the family Rosaceae. It typically grows 20–140 cm tall, occasionally reaching 2 m, and forms suckering thickets armed with numerous stiff bristles and many straight prickles along the stems. Young shoots are bright scarlet, deepening to maroon with age, while the pinnate leaves bear small leaflets that often acquire reddish tones at maturity. The solitary cream-white flowers (rarely pale pink), 2–4 cm across, have five petals and many yellow stamens, blooming in late spring and early summer. The distinctive globular hips ripen to dark purple-black. Native to western, central and southern Europe (extending north to Iceland and Norway) and northwest Africa, it favours sand dunes, limestone pavements and coastal heaths, often forming low, wind-pruned stands. It is a culturally significant plant in Scotland, second only to the thistle as a national emblem.