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Helpful Hints
Family: Rosaceae; (includes Raspberry, Blackberry, Plum, Peach, Almond)
Genus and Species: Rosa Canina, R. Rugosa, R. Centifolia
Also known as: Hipberry
Parts used: Fruits (”hips”)
Prized since the dawn of history, the rose is queen of the flowers. But in herbal Healing, this plant becomes noteworthy only after the velvety petals have fallen away, revealing the cherry-sized fruits, or hips.
Rose hips contain vitamin C, but authorities disagree on how much. Some herbalists call rose hips “one of the best natural sources” of vitamin C. Scientific sources scoff at this claim, asserting it would take more than a dozen cups of rose hip tea to provide the recommended daily allowance and a lot more to help treat colds and flu.
While herbalists have generally overstated this herb’s vitamin C content, it still may be of some benefit for colds and flu.
Medicine Flowers
Roses were a favorite of the ancient Egyptians, who used the fragrant petals as air fresheners and rose water as perfume.
In Greece, Hippocrates recommended rose flowers mixed with oil for diseases of the uterus. India’s traditional Ayurvedic physicians have long considered rose petals cooling and astringent, leading to their use in poultices to treat skin wounds and inflammations. The Ayurvedics also used rose petals and rose water as a laxative.
Western herbalists echoed Ayurvedic uses of the herb.
Medieval German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen recommended rose hip tea as the initial treatment for just about every illness. Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper called the herb “binding and restringent [astringent]” and wrote it “strengthens the stomach, prevents vomiting, stops tickling coughs, … [is] good against all kinds of fluxes [diarrhea] … [and is] of great service in consumptions [tuberculosis].”
As the centuries passed, European herbalists recommended dried rose petal tea for headache, dizziness, mouth sores, and menstrual cramps.
Vitamin C Revival
Americans have always loved roses. They were among the first flowers planted around the White House. But American herbalists considered the rose only a minor Healing herb. The 19th-century Eclectic physicians did not use rose petals at all. They beat the hips into a pulp and used it as a base for making pills containing other medicines.
Roses almost disappeared from early 20th-century herbals. Then came the discovery of vitamin C in the I930s and the finding that rose hips may contain appreciable amounts.
Contemporary herbalists are unanimous in their praise of rose hips as a source of America’s favorite vitamin. One bestselling herbal claims: “Rose hips are rich in vitamin C, richer by far than oranges ounce for ounce. Some people say we should make rose hip tea a part of our daily diet” Because of its vitamin C content, herbalists tout rose hips for colds and flu. Some also recommend the herb as a mild laxative.