Beds of roses
Aug 25, 2021
4 minutes
Text Mary Lovell-Smith
Fossil evidence shows the rose to be an ancient flower – about 35 million years old, in fact. From Central Asia it spread throughout the northern hemisphere – America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East – evolving into an estimated 150 species. All but one of these species roses had single flowers with just five petals. Today these species roses are still around, but in the 5000 years since it was first cultivated in China, breeding has created at least 30,000 varieties – some with more than 100 petals. And although they come in myriad shades and colours, the search continues for that elusive true blue one. Here are
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