Multiflora Rose

Due to the wet spring we had here, the raspberries were at least two weeks behind when we arrived at summer camp.  No trailside snacking for me this year!  However, this meant that there were new sights and smells to be enjoyed, such as the blossoms and fragrance of the wild rose.

I have not noticed such an abundance of wild roses before.  There were so many of them, that the sweet smell of their blossoms wafted through the air and attracted my attention as I walked the camp trails.

The wild rose, like the raspberry cane, has thorns, and sometimes a reddish stem.

This scrubby multiflora rose is an invasive species.  It was brought here in the mid-1800's from Asia, and spread pretty much like wild fire.  I've rarely taken a walk in the woods where I haven't seen them.  Farmers try to combat them, but no matter how many times you mow them down, and no matter how much livestock you have in a pasture trampling them, they keep coming back.

In spite of knowing how much trouble they can be, I couldn't help but enjoy them.  And they do have a benefit.  Birds and even deer will eat the rose hips that form later in the season.