Rosa canina L. Rosaceae Rosa canina L., Sp. Pl.: 491. 1753 Arabic: Nesri French: Rosier des chiens, églantier, églantier aromatique English: Wild rose, dog-rose between the two species Rosa gallica, French rose, and Rosa canina, dog-rose. Compiled by: Dr. Zeineb Ghrabi I Geographical distribution Local: The Tunisian dorsal ridge and eastern Tunisia. I Morphological description Regional: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. A small climbing tree, perennial, 1-2 m. high, Global: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Europe and whose stems have robust, extremely hooked western Asia. thorns that thicken at the base. The leaves are compound imparipinnate, with 5-7 simple toothed I Ecology glabrous leaflets that are non-glandulous on the It particularly develops beside forest watercourses, underside or have glands that only smell when scrub in the plains, and well-watered semi-arid crushed. The flowers are solitary or gathered in a parts of the mountains. It is common in hedges and corymb-like inflorescence, with bracts. The sepals at the edges of woods. are reflected after the anther and rapidly caducous. The corolla has 5 white or light pink I Status, conservation, culture petals. The gynaeceum has many free, fairly The dog-rose is one of the old roses grown and protruding styles. exploited in Tunisia; it is especially characteristic of The fruits are oval, and red when mature (rose- the town of Zaghouan. Zaghouan has Andalusian hips). The achenes are hairy and inserted on the roots and is famed for its rose water-flavoured inner face of the urceolus. cakes. For several years now, it has held a yearly Flowering takes place between May and June. rose festival. A botanical garden to protect this Rosa canina is an extremely polymorphous heritage and its genetic diversity and the traditional species; in North Africa it has 5 subspecies, knowledge of how to grow the roses was set up in including 30 varieties and 10 different forms. Four the Moghrane Grande Ecole of Agronomics, jointly subspecies are mentioned in Tunisia: the with the National Agronomics Institute of Tunisia, as subspecies obtusifolia Desvaux (Algeria, Morocco, part of a project funded by the Secretariat of State central and southern Europe) with the var. for Scientific Research and Technology. tomentelle (Lem.) Crép. and the var. obtusifolia R. Now only the people of Zaghouan cultivate the wild Kell.; the subspecies pouzini (Tratt.) Crép. (Algeria, rose (gardens, small plots). Its essential oil is Morocco and southern Europe); the subspecies extracted in most of the houses of the town. dumentorum (Thuill.) Batt. (Algeria, Morocco, It is multiplied by cutting or by layering. Usually Europe and western Asia); and the subspecies farmers prefer layering (the success rate for cuttings vulgaris Gams var. dumalis (Bechst.) Back is 20% or less of all the cuttings planted out). Just (Algeria, Morocco, Europe and western Asia). one surface in full vegetation can cover 12 sq. m.; According to Krichen (2001) the sweet-smelling to give access to the flowers developing within the dog-rose or white rose appeared at the end of the clump, farmers leave a passage free when layering 16th C resulting from a natural hybridation the branches of that plant. A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa 229 Flowering usually starts in late April; farmers pick mixed with the water of Rosa canina L. and black- the opened flowers early in the morning. The berry paste; applied locally to the crown of the head average daily yield is between 1 and 5 kilos, varying for three days. with the size and age of the plant. The flowers are Constipation: decoction of equal amounts of Rosa picked over a period of three weeks, thus giving a canina L. flower buds and Papaver rhoeas L. flowers; total yield of about 50 kg., or even 150 kg. one glass a day taken by mouth early in the morning. according to the number of plants exploited. Distilling one kilo of flowers gives one litre of pure I Use in herbal medicine and rose water and 0.5 litres of low-concentration rose toxicity water. Preparations of Rosa canina L. are especially given preventively for chill, flu, infectious diseases, vitamin I Part used C deficiency and fever. The flower buds, rosehips (flower receptacle with The plant is a laxative and a tonic to increase the the dried sepals). body’s immune defences against general tiredness, for stomach cramp, gastric insufficiency, or to I Constituents prevent gastritis, ulcers, intestinal disorders, diar- The rosehips contain vitamin C (0.2-2% of dry rhoea, biliary pain, disorders of the urinary tract, weight), provitamins A, tannins (procyanidols), sugars, dropsy, uric acid metabolism disorder, rheumatism, citric and malic acids, pectin, D-sorbitol, an essential sciatica, diabetes and brittle hair. oil (0.3%), flavonoids and a fatty oil (1.5-2%). It should be pointed out that rosehip achenes contain neurotoxic substances that must be elimi- I Pharmacological action nated during the preparation, and that the hairs are The pharmacological action of the dog-rose is great extremely irritating to the skin and mucous and varied: tonic (by vitamins); anti-inflammatory membranes. (by lipid fraction); laxative (by fruit sugars); astrin- gent (by tannins); anti-oxidant and anti-radical (poly-phenolic extract); mild diuretic and depurative action. I Traditional medicine Acne: the powdered stigmas of Carthamus tinctorius L. mixed with Rosa canina L. rose water; local applica- tion at night before sleeping. Asthenia: rub the body with the hydrolat of Rosa canina L. flower buds. Cardiopathy: 3 glasses a day of the hydrolat of Rosa canina L., taken by mouth before meals. Headaches: rub the head with the hydrolat of Rosa I References canina L. flower buds; and 3 glasses a day, taken by Daels-Rakotarison DA, B. Gressier, F.Trotin, C. mouth before meals. Brunet, M. Luyckx, T. Dine, F. bailleul, M. Cazin Encephalitis, myelitis and encephalo-myelitis: equal et JC. Cazin 2002 : Effect of Rosa canina fruit amounts of bitter almond fruits, Rosa canina L. flower extract on neutrophil respiratory burst. Phytoter. buds, leaves of Origanum majorana L., Lavandula 16 (2) 157-6. angustifolia Mill. and Lawsonia inermis L., all Krichen R. 2001: L’églantier aromatique Rosa x alba pounded together and mixed with water and egg yolk L. Caractéristiques biologiques, écologiques et to make a paste; applied locally as a poultice. utilisations par l’homme. Municipalité de Sunstroke: berries of Lycopersicum esculentum Mill., Zaghouan. 9 p. tubers of Solanum tuberosum, and fruits of Echallium LarsenE. , A. Kharazami, LP. Christensen et SB. elaterium (L.) Richard, all pounded together and Christensen, 2003 : an antinflammatory galac- 230 A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa tolipid from rose hip (Rosa canina) that inhibits Pittosporaceae, Plantanaceae, Rosaceae. chemotaxis of human peripherbal blood neutro- Edition Lechevalier SARL. Paris. 309 p. phils in vitro. J. Nat. Prod. 66 (7) : 994-5. Pottier Alapetite G., 1979 : Flore de la Tunisie. Badri M. A., 2000 : Etat de la culture des plantes à Angiospermes- Dicotylédones, Apétales - usage condimentaire et médicinal en Tunisie. Dialypétales. Programme flore et végétation Perspectives de son développement. Projet de tunisiennes. 651p. Fin d’Etude du Cycle Ingénieur de l’INAT. 100p. Van Hellemont J., 1986 : Compendium de phytothé- Le Floc’h E. 1983 : Contribution à une étude ethno- rapie. Ed. du Service Scientifique de botanique de la flore tunisienne. Programme l’Association Pharmaceutique Belge. Flore et Végétation tunisienne. Min. de l’En. Wichtl M. et R. Anton, 1999 : Plantes thérapeuti- Sup. et de la Rech. Sci. 387 p. ques, tradition, pratique officinale, science et Maire R., 1981 : Flore de l’Afrique du Nord. Vol. XV, thérapeutique. Edit. Tech. Et Doc. Paris, France. Dicotylédonae, Rosales : Saxfragaceae, Pp : 335 –338. A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa 231.