Rosa nutkana, Nootka rose
Reed, William R. 1993. Rosa nutkana, Nootka rose. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/rosnut
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| ROSNUT | Nootka rose | Rosa nutkana | Life Form: Plants/Shrub Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Rosa | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The scientific name of Nootka rose is Rosa nutkana Presl. Recognized varieties are as follows [17,19]:
- Rosa nutkana var. nutkana, Nootka rose
- Rosa nutkana var. hispida Fern., bristly Nootka rose
- Rosa nutkana var. muriculata (Greene) G. N. Jones, Nootka rose
- Rosa nutkana var. setosa G. N. Jones, Nootka rose
Synonyms
No entry.
Other Common Names
bristly Nootka rose, common rose, wild rose
General Distribution
Nootka rose is distributed from Alaska south to California and east to western Montana and New Mexico [17,19].
States and Provinces
- United States: AK AZ CA CO ID MT NV NM OR UT WA WY
- Canada: AB BC
Site Characteristics
Nootka rose is commonly found in moderately dry to moist climates in submontane to montane zones. It occurs on nitrogen-rich, fresh to very moist soils. It frequently occurs in floodplains, open streambanks, and meadows [24]. It is sporadic in open-canopy forests with fluctuating groundwater tables. It is occasionally found on brackish-water sites or sites exposed to ocean spray [15]. Nootka rose grows best at pH ranges of 5.6 to 7.0. It thrives on moderately fertile, well-drained clayey-loam, sandy-loam, or sandy soils [14].
Plant Communities
Nootka rose is listed as a dominant understory shrub in the following publication:
Plant communities and soils of north slopes in the palouse region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho [2].
Common plant associates of Nootka rose include common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), and black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa) [2,5].
Botanical Description
Nootka rose.
Nootka rose is a native, deciduous, perennial shrub 3 to 6 feet (0.9-1.8 m) tall with erect or trailing stems. Nootka rose reaches its maximum height within 10 years. Stems and branches are prickly to unarmed. Leaves are compound and have five to seven leaflets. The fruits contain several long, hairy achenes. Roots are deep. Nootka rose has rhizomes [13,14,17].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
- Chamaephyte
- Geophyte
Seasonal Development
Nootka rose flowers from May through July [8,19]. Fruits ripen in early fall and remain on the plant through winter [13].
Regeneration Processes
Sexual: Nootka rose attains sexual maturity at 2 to 5 years of age. Good seed crops are produced about every other year. Nootka rose is a seedbanking species. Seeds exhibit seedcoat dormancy and require a combination of warm and cold stratification or mechanical disturbance for germination. Seeds are dispersed by birds and mammals [13,14].
Asexual: Nootka rose sprouts from the root crown and rhizomes [13,14].
Successional Status
Nootka rose is tolerant of both sun and shade. It shows increased growth and fruit production with increasing light. Nootka rose increases in cover with canopy closure, but may produce less fruit [14].
Immediate Fire Effects
Nootka rose is top-killed by fire. Shallowly buried root crowns and rhizomes of Rosa species, including Nootka rose, may be killed by severe fire [14].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- Small shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
- Rhizomatous shrub, rhizome in soil
- Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
- Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
Fire Adaptations
Nootka rose sprouts from rhizomes and root crowns following fire. It also regenerates from onsite or transported seed [14].
Plant Response to Fire
Nootka rose may increase or decrease following fire. Rosa species of British Columbia, including Nootka rose, usually initially decrease in cover after wildfire. Cover gradually increases, and then declines again as the canopy closes [14]. In a Douglas-fir/ninebark habitat type in Idaho, Nootka rose cover was greater on burned sites or sites logged and then burned than on undisturbed sites. Cover was less, however, than on logged or grazed sites [7]. In aspen and aspen-mixed conifer stands in Idaho and Wyoming, prescribed fires of low to high severity caused a decrease in cover of Nootka and Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii) in postfire year 1. Rose biomass in postfire year 2 was near prefire levels [25]. In Washington and Oregon, burning had little effect on abundance of Nootka rose. Multiple fires can significantly reduce cover of rose species [14].
The Research Project Summary Understory recovery after low- and high-intensity fires in northern Idaho ponderosa pine forests provides information on prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community species including Nootka rose.
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name on the Advanced Search page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
No entry.
Federal Status
None
Other Status
None
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Nootka rose is important wildlife browse. Mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose, caribou, bighorn sheep, bears, coyotes, and various rodents eat the fruits. Squirrels, mice, beavers, and porcupines eat the twigs and leaves [1,4,14].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
Nootka rose fruits are preferred by deer, elk, and squirrels [3,14].
Cover Value
Nootka rose thickets are used for nesting and escape cover by birds and small mammals [14]. Nootka rose provides good cover for waterfowl in Wyoming [8].
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
Nootka rose has successfully been used for rehabilitating disturbed sites at Columbia River Gorge, Oregon [23].
Other Uses
No entry.
Other Management Considerations
In a Douglas-fir/ninebark (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Physocarpus malvaceus) habitat type in Idaho, Nootka rose cover was greater on disturbed sites than on undisturbed sites. Average cover was highest (7.7 percent) on grazed sites [7]. In 16- to 20-year-old lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) regeneration in northeastern Utah, Nootka rose productivity was little affected by thinning or clearcutting [3].
Spring and fall foliar applications of herbicides control Rosa species [14].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES20 Douglas-fir
- FRES21 Ponderosa pine
- FRES23 Fir - spruce
- FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
- FRES26 Lodgepole pine
- FRES27 Redwood
- FRES28 Western hardwoods
- FRES29 Sagebrush
- FRES36 Mountain grasslands
- FRES38 Plains grasslands
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- 1 Northern Pacific Border
- 2 Cascade Mountains
- 3 Southern Pacific Border
- 4 Sierra Mountains
- 5 Columbia Plateau
- 6 Upper Basin and Range
- 8 Northern Rocky Mountains
- 9 Middle Rocky Mountains
- 10 Wyoming Basin
- 11 Southern Rocky Mountains
- 12 Colorado Plateau
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
- K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K004 Fir - hemlock forest
- K005 Mixed conifer forest
- K006 Redwood forest
- K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
- K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
- K011 Western ponderosa forest
- K012 Douglas-fir forest
- K015 Western spruce - fir forest
- K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
- K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
- K019 Arizona pine forest
- K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
- K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
- K022 Great Basin pine forest
- K024 Juniper steppe woodland
- K026 Oregon oakwoods
- K028 Mosaic of K002 and K026
- K029 California mixed evergreen forest
- K030 California oakwoods
- K050 Fescue – wheatgrass
- K051 Wheatgrass – bluegrass
- K055 Sagebrush steppe
- K063 Foothills prairie
- K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 201 White spruce
- 203 Balsam poplar
- 205 Mountain hemlock
- 210 Interior Douglas-fir
- 211 White fir 217 Aspen
- 218 Lodgepole pine
- 220 Rocky Mountain juniper
- 222 Black cottonwood - willow
- 223 Sitka spruce
- 224 Western hemlock
- 225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
- 226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
- 227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
- 228 Western redcedar
- 229 Pacific Douglas-fir
- 230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
- 232 Redwood 235 Cottonwood - willow
- 237 Interior ponderosa pine
- 238 Western juniper
- 244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
- 245 Pacific ponderosa pine
- 247 Jeffrey pine
- 256 California mixed subalpine
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
No entry.
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