Winter is a dreary time along the Pendleton River Parkway. Most of the colorful song birds have long since left for warmer climates. Flowers have ceased to bloom. There isn’t much to attract the eye except for the bright red hips on the wild rose bushes that grow in numerous patches along the parkway.

These hips belong to the native rose bush called Rosa woodsii in Latin, or Woods’ rose in English. The Woods’ does not refer to the fact that this native species is found in the woods, but rather to Joseph Woods, for whom the plant was named. An English expert on the rose family, he lived in the early 19th century.

Woods’ rose is common in riparian and wetland sites in the Pacific Northwest and also is a pioneer in disturbed areas such as roadsides. The shrubs are several feet high and, once established, tend to spread by vegetative reproduction to make dense thickets. The bushes have shallow fibrous roots that protect soil from erosion, making this rose a desirable riparian plant because it assists in maintaining stable banks during floods.

The plants can come from seeds dropped by animals that have eaten the hips, from sprouting of root crowns after a fire, or from stems that get buried and sprout roots to make a new plant.

Stems, called canes, are grayish and bear leaves alternately up the stem. The leaves are compound, meaning they are made up of several leaflets.

Each leaf of this rose usually has from five to nine leaflets. In the photograph, below the two flowers, you can see typical rose leaves with seven leaflets. Note that leaflets have a toothed margin. Leaves are deciduous, but tend to hang onto the stem until late into fall, providing colorful displays of red to orange foliage. Watch out when you try to get a closer look at these bushes because they have thorns on them much like the thorns you find on garden roses.

Woods’ rose blooms along the parkway in June. Flowers are borne in groups on branches on last year’s part of the cane. There are five petals on each flower. Petals are pinkish to lavender and last only a day or two. Flowers bloom in sequence up the branch giving a long blooming time for the shrub.

Flying insects such as bees are common pollinators. The bees are probably attracted by the strong fragrance of the flower and that’s one of the attractions for people, too.

After blooming, rose hips develop and turn deep red by fall. Rose hips are a fruit – like an apple – and have rose seeds inside of them. Plants will bloom and produce rose hips containing seed when they are about 3-4 years old.

Rose hips are used by many animals during winter for food because the hips stay on the stem throughout the winter and the stem holds the food above snow level. Squirrels and deer as well as birds and small mammals have access to this food when snow is on the ground. Also, the thickets provide cover for small mammals and birds.

Humans have used rose hips for centuries.

They were a common ingredient in medieval herbal remedies. They are still used to make rose hip jams and jellies, to extract vitamin C, to extract an oil used in cosmetics, and for palliative teas. American Indians used all parts of the wild rose for food and for medicines. Relatives of the wild rose include such important crops as apples, peaches, cherries, plums and blackberries.

Betty Klepper, a retired scientist, lives in Pendleton and started Stewards of the Umatilla River Environment (S.U.R.E.) in 2001.