The rose’s leaves are a light green with toothed edges and prickles at the bases of their leaves. Nootka Roses bloom from June to July, blossoming with five large pink petals per flower that grow out of the buttery yellow center. The red rose hips and leaves give off a faint sweet smell. These flowers tend to grow in meadows, stream banks, and forest borders.

While mostly just enjoyed by the people of the tribe, the blossoms have many uses. The rose hips can be consumed like berries once the internal fibers and seeds are removed, and they are also pressed into things such as berry “cakes’ and other recipes. The Nootka Rose is not only used for more food related things, but its stems have medicinal uses. When burned into ash, the Nootka Rose stem can be mixed with natural oils like skunk oil among others, this makes a medical salve for sores. But it doesn’t stop at the stems, the petals are also used to make medicines and teas. These flowers were also used to make cradleboards for babies, being scraped free of their thorns, soon bent into acrs that secure the boards underneath or woven with natural fibers. In the tribal culture of the Quinault people, roses are seen as a sigh of vitality and protection, many other tribes see the roses for the same or similar reasons. 

These roses are located all around both sides of the Cascades crest, as it is widely distributed around the area. Other states these flowers can be located in are Alaska and in Oregon to the east of the Rocky Mountains.

This plant can be found in thickets, forest edges, riparian zones, shores and rocky slopes. It’s  growth duration last May to July.