Rosa chinensis, known commonly as the China rose or Chinese rose, is a member of the genus Rosa native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The first publication of Rosa chinensis was in 1768 by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin.
The China roses, based on Rosa chinensis, have been cultivated in East Asia for centuries, and in Western Europe since the late 18th century. Popular cultivars include 'Old Blush China', 'Mutabilis' (Butterfly Rose), 'Cramoisi Superieur'. It is a shrub that reaches 1–2 m and grows in hedges or forms thickets. The leaves are pinnate, have 3–5 leaflets, each leaflet 2.5–6 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. In the wild species (sometimes listed as Rosa chinensis var. spontanea), the flowers have five pink to red petals. The fruit is a red hip 1–2 cm diameter. The strong, stalk-round branches have an almost bare, purplish-brown bark and there may be many to no curved, stocky, flat spines. The alternately arranged leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade and a total of 5 to 11 inches long.
