Chinese rose 月季

Bearing a strong resemblance to other roses, yet with fewer thorns and larger petals, the plant originates from China, hence the name "Chinese rose".

"Bloom or fade, the flower never cares about arrival of spring; Best peonies only appear in late spring and early summer, yet Chinese roses enjoy the four seasons with unceasing beauty," poet Su Shi from the Song Dynasties ( 960-1279) described the flower in his poem.

Chinese people started to grow the rose about 2,000 years ago. In the Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 220), Chinese roses were widely grown in royal gardens. And in the Tang Dynasty, the flowers found their way into most regions along the Yangtze River.

Apart from being extracted to make perfume, the roots, leaves and flowers of Chinese roses are used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure menstruation disorders.

月季花外觀和玫瑰極為相似，只不過刺更少花瓣更大，因為原產于中國，所以英文名是Chinese rose（中國玫瑰）。

蘇軾曾在詩中寫道：“花落花開不間斷，春來春去不相關。牡丹最貴為春晚，芍藥雖繁只夏初。惟有此花開不厭，一年長占四時春。”

國人早在2000年前就開始種植月季，漢朝時就已在宮廷花園中大量栽培，唐朝時更為普遍，廣泛分布在長江流域地區。

除了用來制成香水，月季的根、葉和花瓣都可入藥，用來調節月經。

點擊這里聽《China Roses》