Rosa gymnocarpa
Wood rose, Wood Rose
(c) Walter Siegmund, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Rosaceae · Type: Subshrub · Native
Rosa gymnocarpa (Wood rose) is a native California subshrub in the Rosaceae family, recognized by Woodland rose; sepals fall off the naked hip; tiny flowers, slender straight prickles.
Wood rose is a California native shrub found in various bioregions, ranging from coastal to mountain habitats at moderate elevations. Flowering from May to July, this rose produces delicate pink to red flowers approximately 10 millimeters wide with multiple petals. Growing as a loose, open shrub with slender stems armed with few to many small prickles 2 to 8 millimeters long, it develops an irregular, somewhat sprawling form. Its compound leaves feature leaflets with double-toothed margins, typically glabrous with a generally smooth leaf axis that may have occasional glandular elements. The fruit develops as an ellipsoid to nearly spherical structure 4 to 12 millimeters wide, bearing small, persistent sepals.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Woodland rose; sepals fall off the naked hip; tiny flowers, slender straight prickles
Habitat and range
California counties: Humboldt, Sonoma, Mendocino, San Mateo, Siskiyou, Plumas, Sutter, Modoc, Fresno, Trinity, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Butte, Del Norte, San Diego, Lake, San Luis Obispo, Napa, Sierra, Santa Clara, Alameda, Marin, Shasta, Glenn, Amador, Contra Costa, Tehama, El Dorado, Nevada, San Francisco, Yuba, Colusa, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Calaveras, Solano, Mariposa
How to tell it apart
vs Camellia: Rosa has compound leaves with multiple leaflets; Camellia has single undivided glossy leaves.; vs Carpenteria: Rosa has thorny stems and compound leaves; Carpenteria is thornless with simple opposite leaves.; vs Hibiscus: Rosa has compound leaves and thorny stems; Hibiscus has simple palmate leaves, thornless.; vs Dahlia: Rosa is woody with thorns; Dahlia is herbaceous without thorns.; vs Cistus: Rosa has compound leaves with 5-9 leaflets; Cistus has simple undivided leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rosa gymnocarpa native to California?
Yes. Rosa gymnocarpa is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Rosa gymnocarpa grow?
Rosa gymnocarpa occurs in Humboldt, Sonoma, Mendocino, San Mateo, Siskiyou, Plumas, Sutter, Modoc and other counties.
What plant family does Rosa gymnocarpa belong to?
Rosa gymnocarpa is in the Rosaceae family, genus Rosa.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.