Rosa arkansana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Rosa
Species:	R. arkansana
Binomial name
Rosa arkansana Porter

Rosa arkansana (Prairie Rose or Wild Prairie Rose; syn. R. pratincola, R. suffulta, R. suffulta var. relicta) is a species of rose native to a large area of central North America, between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan south to New Mexico, Texas and Indiana. There are two varieties:

• Rosa arkansana var. arkansana
• Rosa arkansana var. suffulta (Greene) Cockerell

The name Rosa arkansana comes from the Arkansas River in Colorado. The species' wide distribution and consequent genetic drift has led to an extensive synonymy.

The name Prairie Rose is also sometimes applied to Rosa blanda, also known as the Meadow Rose or Smooth Rose, which is also widely spread, but somewhat further to the north.

[edit] Symbolism and cultivation

Wild Prairie Rose is the state flower of the U.S. states of Iowa and North Dakota. In Iowa, convention states the species is Rosa pratincola (currently treated as a synonym of Rosa arkansana). North Dakota, on the other hand, specifies either Rosa arkansana or Rosa blanda. Alberta's "wild rose" is Rosa acicularis.

It is grown as an ornamental plant, and has become naturalized in parts of Massachusetts, New York, and North Dakota.

[edit] References

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Rosa arkansana
• USDA Plants Profile: Rosa arkansana
• Plants for a Future: Rosa arkansana
• North Dakota Legislative Branch: State emblems, symbols and awards