California Wild Rose: {Rosa californica}:

California Wild Rose Shrub {Rosa californica} Plant Profile on USDA.gov

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=booysw1odk0[/youtube]

Above: from “The Forgotten Abundance of America’s Wildlands w/ Richard Lonewolf”.  Order your copy to support the growth of this database & learn a lot more. Filmed & designed by Distance Everheart.

Identification Characteristics: 

Size: 3-6 ft tall.
Location:
Native: U.S. states of California and Oregon and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico
Population: Common
Historical & Traditional Food, Utility, & Medicinal Uses:  
Food: Rosehips (berry-like closed blossoms) contain more vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and iron than oranges. They can be eaten raw, dried for tea, or used in jellies & sauces, or soaked in water to make a drink.  Because the rose hips remain on the plant throughout the winter, they can provide sustenance when little else is available.
Flowers can be eaten raw, used in candy, jelly, or used as tea.
Utility: Flowers can be used in perfume recipes.  Stems used in basketry.
Traditional Medicine: A tea is made from the roots & used for colds.
A tea can be made from leaves & fruits for pain & colic (when babies excessively cry for seemingly no reason).

   Wild Willpower looks forward to filming experts & have them teach you firsthand the historical & traditional food, utility, & medicinal uses as well asPositive-Impact Harvesting Techniques for California Wild Rose so that we can help add to the content that is already on USDA.gov.  We’re currently fundraising $ 450,000 to acquire our list of needed resources so we can make this website operate as described here.  Even a small amount helps a great deal!

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Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_wild_rose, Lonewolf; the Unknown Survivor Man

Film & Database Entry: Distance Everheart 4-18-13

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