BY LESLIE REGO
The last few weeks I have written about flowers that are part of the rose family (Rosaceae). In our local national forests, we have a lot of flowers that are part of this family, characterized by the petals coming together at the base to create some kind of closed form similar to a cup. Of course, an obvious member of this family would be the wild Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana), which is blooming right now. I find it terribly romantic when I am out hiking and I come upon a wild rose bush. Unlike the commercial roses, which are cultivated for their longevity and tend to lose their lovely fragrance in the process, the wild rose gives off a sweet perfume, which gently wafts into the air as you pass by.
The rose bush has thick woody stems circled by wicked-looking thorns. The thorns tend to become smaller and smaller as they travel up the bush from the thick stem to the smaller twigs which support the flower but, beware, the smaller thorns can still pack quite a punch. The flower itself has five soft pink petals surrounding many lemony yellow stamens.
The rose as a symbol has been used consistently throughout life. The contrast between the beauty of the rose with the sharp thorn is too vivid to ignore. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Truths and roses have thorns about them.” Anne Brontë penned, “But he who dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.” Rumi whispers, “The rose’s rarest essence lives in the thorns.” He also murmurs, “I will soothe you and heal you, I will bring you roses. I too have been covered with thorns.”
When I pass by a rose bush, all of these contradictory images pass through my mind: the beautiful scent, the velvety pink of the petals, the subtle greens of the serrated leaves, and the slender, bristly thorns defending their turf. Who cannot be smitten by the rose? And who cannot be especially smitten by the wild rose growing freely within our beautiful national forests?
Leslie Rego is an Idaho Press Club award-winning columnist, artist and Blaine County resident. To view more of Rego’s art, visit www.leslierego.com.