Rosa – Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park.

genus Rosa

Common Characteristics of the genus Rosa

How can we determine which of the roses are which in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities?

Part 3

Binomial nomenclature is a two-naming system featuring the first part of the name – the generic name– identifies the genus to which the plant or organism belongs, while the second part – the specific name or specific epithet – identifies the species.

The plants belonging to the genus Rosa can be characteristically described by flowers, leaves, fruit, and thorns.

The flowers of most species of native roses have five petals. Each petal is divided into two distinct lobes and is usually white or pink. Beneath the petals are five sepals. These sepals may be long enough to be visible when viewed from above and appear as green points alternating with the rounded petals. There are multiple superior ovaries that develop into rose hips bearing achenes. Roses are insect-pollinated in nature.

Rose in the Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Bumblebee on rose

The leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species they are 5 to 15 centimetres (2.0 to 5.9 in) long, pinnate, with (3–) 5–9 (–13) leaflets and basal stipules; the leaflets usually have a serrated margin, and often a few small prickles on the underside of the stem. Most roses are deciduous.

Oddly pinnate leaf - imparipinnate Courtesy Maksim CC x 1.2 — Oddly pinnate leaf – imparipinnate Courtesy Maksim CC x 1.2

The leaves of the wild roses of the region are alternate, and oddly pinnated. Pinnation is the arrangement of the leaflets arise on both sides of a common axis. This common axis is referred to as a rachis which is the backbone or spine of the leaf. Each petiole or the stalk attaches the leaf to the stem or peduncle of the plant. The small leaflets, themselves have little stems called petiolules. The root pinna is from the Latin meaning “feather”, and these plants can be referred to as “feather-leaved” in everyday or informal usage. Oddly pinnated leaves are also called imparipinnate, both terms meaning that the leaf bears one lone leaflet at the terminal or top of the leaf, rather than a pair of leaflets.

The aggregate fruit of the rose is a berry-like structure called a rose hip. The hips of most species are red. Each hip comprises an outer fleshy layer, the hypanthium, which contains 5–160 “seeds” (technically dry single-seeded fruits called achenes) embedded in a matrix of fine, but stiff, hairs. Rose hips of some species are very rich in vitamin C, among the richest sources of any plant. The hips are eaten by fruit-eating birds such as thrushes and waxwings, which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. Some birds, particularly finches, also eat the seeds.

Rose Hip fruiting body bearing seeds within sepals (rose hip lobes) above

The sharp growths along a rose stem, though commonly called “thorns”, are technically prickles, outgrowths of the epidermis (the outer layer of tissue of the stem), unlike true thorns, which are modified stems. Rose prickles are typically sickle-shaped hooks, which aid the rose in hanging onto other vegetation when growing over it. Some species such as Rosa Acicularlis have densely packed straight prickles, probably an adaptation to reduce browsing by animals. Despite the presence of prickles, roses are frequently browsed by deer.

The amazing thing about the rose bush, is that it will do the best on alluvium soils which are seasonally flooded, which works out well at the afforestation areas located as they are in the West Swale (a low-lying area caused the Pleistocene Yorath Island glacial spillway.) However, that being said, the roses have a very high drought tolerance.

American Red Squirrel Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla Garrulus Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Mule deer, snoeshow hare, coyotes, squirrels, white-tailed deer and birds such as waxwings, pine grosbeaks, and grouse will nibble on the rose hip fare provided by the rose bush. Wild rose hips are high in both Vitamin A and Vitamin C. These animals, and birds will carry the seeds (achenes) away after nibbling on the rose hips, and through the digestive process disperse the seed in new areas. The achenes do not sprout immediately, in fact, the majority will sprout on the second spring after snow melt. The seeds require this period of dormancy and require the seasonal changes of warm and cold in order to sprout. In regards to the health of the animals, the crude protein is higher in the wild rose hip while the leaves remain on the trees. The rose hips remain on the shrubbery into the winter months, providing a much-needed snack during the cold days of the year for winter foragers when snow covers the ground. The pollen during the month of June is beneficial for many pollinators.

When trying to distinguish various species of wild roses, bear in mind, that species may hybridize with one another. The next chapter will delve into the taxonomic classification for species of roses at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities.

Activities and Questions:

Take a camera, ruler, pencil, and start a nature journal of your visits to the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities where you record observations and measurements about the observable characteristics of native rose plants, insects and animals around these plants. Record their blooming time, and when the petals drop off, and when the leaves turn colour in the autumn. Are all plants the same? Identify the number of leaflets, and their shape, record the colour of flowers, and the height of the plant.
Would a bug find it easy or hard to walk along the top surface of the rose bush leaf?
Would an insect find it easy or hard to walk along the underneath surface of the rose bush leaf?
Are there any eggs, insect larva, etc under the rose bush leaf?
Become a citizen scientist.
Stop and smell the roses! How do your ears, eyes, nose, mouth and skin relate to native rose plants for all the senses – hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch? Do other animals need their senses to interact with native rose plants?
Compare native rose plants with other forbes, and flora in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities. Which plants bloom at the same time?
Do you think pollinator insects, dogs, birds, and deers appreciate the smell of the native rose plants?
How do you think rose bush plants get the rose seeds out of the rose hip so the seeds may germinate in the ground?
What kind of safety procedures would you need to use when observing a native rose plant? What do animals do when presented with the sticky substance on rose leaves, or with the thorns and bristles on the rose stem?
Compare the flowers, leaves, and seeds between the native rose plants, and other plants in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities.
What kind of seasonal changes may occur for a native rose plant?
Why do native roses lose their leaves for the winter months?
Why would animals choose to eat rose hips in the winter? Do native rose plants support the health or harm the growth of deers, rabbits, and squirrels? Do animals help the plants? What happens when the animals disperse the seeds after digesting the rose hips which contain the rose seeds? Create a food web of animals and native rose plant interactions. What would happen if the native rose plant became extinct?
How have humans affected the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities? Analyze an issue or case study where humans have greatly affected these environments, including a cost‐benefit analysis and ethical implicaᅾons
Are the native rose plants afforested in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities, or do they grow naturally there?
Create a map which will guide others to the location of a native rose plant.
Create a set of directions from a specified location to arrive at the location of a native rose plant which you have found.
Why are there no native rose plants in the middle of a trembling aspen grove?
How can a native rose plant reproduce, if the animals eat the rose hips which contain the rose seeds?
Observe the native rose plants, and write a poem or story, paint a picture or sketch a drawing of them.
Analyze any of the native rose plants, and see what happens if there is a lot of rain, or if there is an extended dry spell.
How do the native rose plants defend themselves, if there is a large population of wildlife eating their rose hips and flowers?

Bibliography

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

You Tube Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

You Tube George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!

QR Code FOR PAYPAL DONATIONS to the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. — Paypal

Payment Options

Membership : $20.00 CAD – yearly
Membership with donation : $50.00 CAD
Membership with donation : $100.00 CAD

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker

“Man has lost his way in the jungle of chemistry and engineering and will have to retrace his steps, however painful this may be. He will have to discover where he went wrong and make his peace with nature. In so doing, perhaps he may be able to recapture the rhythm of life and the love of the simple things of life, which will be an ever-unfolding joy to him.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker

What is taxonomy?

How can we determine which of the roses are which in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities?

Part 1

Prickly Rose (Rosa Acicularlis Lindl.) the Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana) and Wood’s Rose, or Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii) are perhaps easiest to identify in mid-June when the pink blooms appear. These blooms last perhaps two weeks, giving way to the fruit or the red or reddish-orange rose hips, which again make this bush easy to identify. Whereas, all rose bushes have thorns, the Prickly Rose is abundant with weak thorns.

Rose in the Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Native Rose Bush blooming in June

Prickly Rose (Rosa Acicularlis Lindl.) the Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana) and Wood’s Rose, or Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii) all grow well across Saskatchewan, in the quaking aspen parkland, and also the grasslands as well as the northern boreal forests. This bush is often found where the soil has been made acidic due to the contributions of spruce or pine, and will grow in forests comprised of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), and cottonwood (Populous spp.) all of these trees making up both the afforestation areas – Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities.

The rose bush, will make its appearance in places where rodents or other animals disturb the soil, loosening up the soil which then receives the rose seed (achene) in an area conducive to growth. Or, in fact, these animals may also be disturbing the rhizomatous roots which are laying below the soil. Adventitious buds form on roots near the ground surface, on damaged stems (as on the stumps of cut rose shrubs), or on old roots. These roots develop into above-ground stems and leaves. A form of budding called suckering is the reproduction or regeneration of a plant by shoots that arise from an existing root system. The rose bushes do not tolerate a closed forest canopy as they are only moderately shade tolerant.

What is the difference between scientists?

A botanist is an expert in or student of the scientific study of plants, based on the Greek root botanikos, from botanē meaning plant, and -logy from French -logie or from Greek / medieval Latin -logia meaning the study or interest in a subject. A biologist is a scientist who focuses on living organisms, including plants and animals from Greek bios ‘life’ + -logy. A naturalist, on the other hand, is a person who studies or is an expert in natural history, especially a zoologist or botanist. Historically, if one lived back in the late 14^th century, the Middle English word for a “natural philosopher or scientist” was naturien instead of naturalist.

A citizen scientist is anyone who aids in the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world, and reports them to a collaborative project with professional scientists. Some wonderful ways to report data from the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest ecosystems, would be for citizen scientists to make observations and send them off on their computers or by using phone apps. iNaturalist, ebird, Bird Studies Canada, EcoSpark, eButterfly, FrogWatch, PlantWatch, Project Noah, Project BudBurst, Nature’s Notebook, LeafSnap. The Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan has a Saskatchewan Master Naturalists program. The Saskatoon Nature Society conducts regular field trips to connect people and nature. Jane’s Walks and The Wild About Saskatoon Walks in the spring month of May introduce the visitor to both the afforestation areas – Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park forest communities.

PlantWatch The PlantWatch program enables citizen scientists to get involved by recording flowering times for selected plant species and reporting these dates to researchers, who work to identify ecological changes that may be affecting our environment. By reporting on the PlantWatch species found in your community, you can help researchers discover how common plants are responding to climate change and track where changes are taking place in Canada, and at what rate.

Project BudBurst Project BudBurst is an app to receive data on the timing of leafing and flowering of trees and flowers Project BudBurst also offers climate change and phenology materials and tools

LeafSnap The user of the LeafSnap App needs to extract the leaf and place it in a white background and then take a picture through the app to get the leaf identified automatically.

Reporting your findings on facebook, or social media, and using the hashtags #ScienceAroundMe., #RichardStBarbeBakerAfforestationArea, #GeorgeGenereuxUrbanRegionalPark, #Saskatoon, #YXEGreenStrategy are some excellent ways to track the eco-system out at the afforestation areas.

What is taxonomy?

Botanists refer to a taxonomic key produced by a taxonomist when speaking in reports, publications or at conferences about plants.

TaxonomicRanks — Taxonomic Ranks, and Binomial Name Genus and Species

“Nature produces individuals, and nothing more. She produces them in such countless numbers that we are compelled to sort them into kinds in order that we may be able to carry them in our minds. This sorting is classification—taxonomy.” ~C.E. Bessey Though Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) may be regarded as the first ever naturalist, Theophrastus (371–287 B.C.), his pupil, is recognised as the father of Botany. However, the starting point for modern botanical nomenclature is Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum of 1753 which featured a key event as Linnaeus adopted the system of using binomial names for plant species. Binomial nomenclature is a two-naming system featuring the first part of the name – the generic name– identifying the genus to which the plant or organism belongs, while the second part – the specific name or specific epithet – continues on to identify the species. The classification of something, living things or organisms is the science called taxonomy. A taxonomist groups organisms into categories. A plant taxonomist may study the origins, and the relationships between different types of roses. Taxonomists may come up with their own system of plant taxonomy or “taxonomic system

Taxonomic_rankingBLANK — Taxonomic Chart Blank

Figure 1 Complete the Taxonomic Ranks for the Saskatchewan Wild Rose Method 1 Use the given relationships below used by botanists Method 2 Create your own Taxonomy Chart, Taxonomic Section titles, and plant names.

In Saskatchewan roses have the same taxonomy through to the genus “Rosa.” Of all the taxonomic classifications, the clade ‘Rosids’ is the most challenging taxonomic category to describe.

Kingdom: Plantae. Plantae means plants, featuring multi-cellular living things with predominantly photosynthetic cells.
Rosales Classification taxonomy key according to the USDA
Clade: Angiosperms. Angiosperms are plants with fruit. Angiosperms are land plants which produce seeds within an enclosure such as a fruiting body. Angiosperms is derived from the Greek words angeion (“case” or “casing”) and sperma (“seed”).
Clade: Eudicot. Eudicots have two seed leaves which provide nutrients to the embroyo from the Greek words eu, well or good, dio two, and kotylidon seedlobe. Eudicot as a reference first proposed that there is a pair of leaves, or cotyledons, in the embryo of the seed. Currently the classification refers to angiosperms which are not monocots.
Clade: Rosids. Rosids have their own chapter: Rosids (Part 2).
Order: Rosales. Those rosids which are nitrogen fixing or those plants which belong to the nitrogen fixing order are given the name Rosales.
Family: Rosaceae. The subfamily of rosaceae is Rosoideae, those plants with rose hips. Rosoideae which are those genera bearing aggregate fruits that are made up of small achenes or drupelets, and often the fleshy part of the fruit is the receptacle or the stalk bearing the carpels (female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an ovary, a stigma, and usually a style). In taxonomy, that which separates the family Rosaceae from the order Rosales is that the plant ovaries and achenes (seeds) are hidden inside the round hypanthium.
Genus: Rosa. Two of the ways that the rosaceae family can be narrowed down to the genus Rosa are; if the plant features many pistils and prickly stems. chapter: genus Rosa (Part 3).
Species: R. Acicularlis Lindl., R. arkansana, R. woodsii

Linnaean system of classification Biological Classification Chart — Biological Classification Chart

Figure 2 From the information above fill out the Biological classification Chart. What happened? Have there been changes in the Linnaean system? Why? For extra points, how many different kingdoms are there?

In the USDA classification

Kingdom Plantae refers to plants.
Sub-Kingdom Tracheobionta are vascular plants with lignified plant tissues (called vessels or trachea) for moving water and minerals around the plant.
Super-division Spermatophyta are seed plants. Seed plants are divided into two groups Gymnosperms and Angiosperms.
Division Magnoliophyta are flowering plants. Plants in Magnoliophyta were formerly classified as angiosperms.
Class Magnoliospida hold the dicot plants.
Sub-class Rosidae also called Rosid.
Order Rosales feature nitrogen fixing flowers with four or five petals and the blossoms are flat or cup-shaped. They also have fleshy fruit.

Activities and questions

Design, construct and evaluate the effectiveness of a taxonomic classification technique that demonstrates the scientific principles underlying the identification of plants and how to differentiate one plant from another.
Evaluate, compare (find the similarities) and contrast (find the differences) to weigh the effectiveness of more than one of the previously devised botanical classifications. Debate the issue with supporting arguments pro and con.
What type of background in the physical sciences would a botanist or a taxonomist require?
Are there any biologists, or naturalists in Saskatchewan?