"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," says Juliet when she hears that Romeo is a dreaded Montague. But many roses do not smell sweet at all. In their hybridization, they've lost something.
The Nootka Rose is both beautiful to behold and heavenly to smell. Its scent is as strong as any essential oil, and I cannot pass by without stopping to smell the roses.
Rosa Nutkana was named after Nootka Sound by one of the early explorers to the coast who first saw it there. I think, possibly by the biologist aboard Captain Cook's ship, HMS Resolution. Cook was astronomer and scientist on this his third voyage but William Anderson served as biologist and naturalist. They traveled with a sister ship, HMS Discovery, piloted by Captain Clerke, and the two, who were searching for a Northwest Passage to the North Atlantic, were in a naming/claiming frenzy.
They arrived in Yuquot by accident after sailing north from California and missing The Strait of Juan de Fuca. Then ended up staying and trading for sea otter pelts from March 29 until April 26 in 1778. Since this rose blooms in early spring, it's possible they were in bloom during the month the crew stayed.
I'd like to know what the Nuu-chah-nulth People call this rose. It's said the rose is used medicinally and the hips are bitter but edible. If anyone knows its true name or how it's used, please leave a comment.
Of course, if you don't live on the Northwest Pacific Coast, you likely know this wild and beautiful rose by another name. I've seen it called Prairie Rose. Are there wild roses where you live? What do you call them?
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