Rosa omeiensis is a species of Rosa native to central and southwestern China in the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan; it grows in mountains at altitudes of 700 to 4,400 m.

Rosa omeiensis
Rosa omeiensis forma pteracantha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Rosa
Species:	R. omeiensis
Binomial name
Rosa omeiensis Rolfe

It is a shrub which grows 4 m tall, and is often very spiny. The leaves are deciduous, 3–6 cm long, with 5–13 leaflets with a serrated margin. The flowers are 2.5–3.5 cm diameter, white, with (unusually for a rose) only four petals. The hips are red to orange-yellow, 8–15 mm diameter, with persistent sepals, and often bristly.

There are four formae:

• Rosa omeiensis f. omeiensis.
• Rosa omeiensis f. glandulosa T.T.Yü & T.C.Ku.
• Rosa omeiensis f. paucijuga T.T.Yü & T.C.Ku.
• Rosa omeiensis f. pteracantha Rehder & E.H.Wilson.

It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the closely related species Rosa sericea.

Cultivation and uses

Rosa omeiensis forma pteracantha is grown as an ornamental plant for its large, bright red thorns.

• 
  R. omeiensis f. pteracantha
• 
  Rosa omeiensis f. pteracantha Rehder & E.H.Wilson
• 
  Thorns and leaves

References

• Flora of China: Rosa omeiensis