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An open database of culinary spices.

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Plant Rosa × damascena

Spice:

Rose

Botanical Name:

Rosa × damascena

Botany:

The Damask rose is a deciduous shrub growing to 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) tall, the stems densely armed with stout, curved prickles and stiff bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with five (rarely seven) leaflets. The roses are a light to moderate pink to light red. The relatively small flowers grow in groups. The bush has an informal shape. It is considered an important type of Old Rose, and also important for its prominent place in the pedigree of many other types.

Cultivation:

Rosa × damascena is optimally cultivated in hedge rows to help protect the blooms from wind damage and to facilitate harvesting them. In Bulgaria, damask roses are grown in long hedges, while in Turkey, individual plants are spaced apart along trenches. Gathering the flowers is intense manual labor. The harvesting period for roses is dependent on weather conditions and locations: between as long as a month in cooler conditions, or as short as 16-20 days in hotter seasons.