Rosa brunonii

Rosa brunonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is commonly known as the Himalayan musk rose.[2] It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen climber[3] most commonly seen along the foothills of the Himalayas and grows at heights of 1200–2400 m. Come May, all the musk rose bushes burst into bloom, clothing trees, running wild over hedges and tumbling precariously over cliffs and boulders. The air is heady with their scent and honeybees and nectar-loving insects have a field day.[4][1]

Rosa brunonii
Flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Rosa
Species:	R. brunonii
Binomial name
Rosa brunonii Lindl.
Synonyms[1]
Rosa clavigera H.Lév. Rosa nepalensis Lindl. ex Steud. Rosa pubescens Roxb.

The five-petalled flowers are white and about 3–4 cm across, filled with a mass of yellow stamens. The stems are prickly and the leaves are finely-toothed ovals with pointed tips. Rosa moschata found in the western Himalayas is very similar, the main difference being that its branches are smooth and the leaf stalks are without prickles. Several other varieties of wild white roses grow in the hills. Wild, pink roses or Rosa macrophylla are also common and can be seen growing side by side with the white ones. When the wild rose withers away, its place is taken by a red rounded fruit known as a rose-hip.

In Hindi, the musk rose is known as Kuji, Kunja or Karer. Sometimes the wood is used to make walking sticks. An attar is extracted from the flowers. A soothing cough syrup is made out of the hips; these have a high vitamin C content. A kind of a marmalade can also be made of the hips by boiling them and passing the pulp through a sieve; to each 1/2 kg of pulp add an equal amount of sugar and boil until it jells.[5][6]