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Leaves are long-petiolate, ordinary unpaired, consisting of 5-7 leaflets. Leaflets are rounded, ovate or elliptic city-serrate. Flowers are large, arranged on long pedicels, 1-3 at the ends of branches. The calyx is five-lobed, corolla five-petaled, semi-mauve. Petals are purplish-red, less often pink. Blooms rose Crimean in May - June. Cultivated in the USSR as an oilseed and ornamental plant.
In the wild form of the Crimean rose is found in France, GDR, Germany, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Greece and other countries, in the USSR - in the Crimea, the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, the Moldavian SSR. It grows in open places, along forest edges, among shrubs, on mountain slopes.
Cultivated in France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, USSR and many other countries.
The petals of flowers collected in the early morning during flowering are used (when collected in the middle of the day, the content of essential oil decreases).
Chemical composition
.Rose flowers contain essential oil, the main component of which is geraniol (up to 50%), citronemol (30%), eugenol, phenylethylalcohol (1%). The latter substance is contained in insignificant quantities, but it imparts a particularly pleasant flavor to the oil and is readily soluble in water. In rosewater obtained by distillation, it is the chief carrier of odor. In addition, rose petals contain sugars, quercitin, bitters, fatty oils, organic acids, anthocyanins, and wax.
Action and application
.In France, rose petals are used as a C-vitamin and anthelmintic. It is recommended for use in diarrhea, hemorrhoids and as a general tonic, as well as for making confitures.
In Bulgaria other rose varieties are used for treatment: rose damascena (Rosa damascena Mill.) - red rose petals are used for diarrhea and inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract, sore throats and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes (5-10 g finely chopped petals poured 400 ml of boiling water, used externally in the form of washes and compresses). In the white rose (Rosa alba L.) flowers contain mucilaginous substances and in small doses are a good anthelmintic. Rose water acts antiseptically in conjunctivitis. Rose oil has anti-inflammatory and antiputrid action in abscesses, gangrene. It is used in bronchial asthma.
Bulgarian researchers in Sofia at the Institute of Oncology treated oral aphthosis with Bulgarian rose products. The ointment was used to treat 60 patients. Researchers noted that pain decreased immediately after application of the ointment, and after 1-3 days epithelization of wounds was observed.
In ancient times in Salerno rose Crimean or French was considered one of the best medicines, so, rose oil used internally for stomach aches, constipation, externally included in various ointments and for cosmetic purposes, in combination with vinegar used for infected wounds; rose petals infused with wine - for diarrhea and female diseases; fresh rose petals - externally for rusty inflammation; petals mixed with honey - for gum diseases, and petals mixed with honey water - as an antipyretic, etc. д.
In Russian folk medicine preparations of rose petals are among the mucous, slightly astringent means and are used for diarrhea, abdominal pain, lung diseases, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, jaundice and even cholera; with influenza, sore throat and various diseases of the oral cavity in the form of gargles and rinses, finely ground powder of rose petals sprinkled on ulcers and applied to places affected by rusty inflammation.
In Armenia, red rose petals are used for liver diseases and white rose petals are used for heart diseases. In former times, rose water, rose honey, preserves, rose syrup and rose oil were prepared from rose petals in pharmacies. Rose water was used in the form of lotions for eye diseases.
Rose oil is used to improve taste and odor, is included in pharmaceutical preparations, and for cosmetic purposes. In food processing and cooking, rose petals are used for jams and soursels.
We use the petals of the Crimean rose as an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, analgesic, astringent, tonic, C-vitamin and flavor-enhancing infusion. We recommend white rose petals for hypertension and atherosclerosis; for gastritis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer - petals of red, pink and white rose; for liver disease and dysentery - petals of red rose. In addition, in conjunctivitis is shown to rinse the eyelids with an infusion of red rose petals..
