ROSA moschata.
Musk Rose.
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Rosa, paniculis multifloris, redolens quasi moschum; germinibus ovatis; pedunculisque villosis; petiolis aculeatis; foliolis oblongis, acuminatis, glabris; spinis ramorum majoribus, sparsis, rectisque.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Rose, with many-flowered panicles, scented like musk; seed-bud egg-shaped; peduncles villose; petioles prickly; the leaflets are oblong, acuminated, and smooth; the spines of the branches are large, scattered, and straight.
As a perfectly distinct species, the present figure is well deserving of notice. Its flowers are numerous, of a soft creamy white, and which are supposed to emit an odour resembling the perfume called musk. A specific name thus derived, we should not hold in much estimation were the plant ever so deficient in descriptive character; but as the reverse is obvious in the present instance, it is still the more objectionable. Were it, therefore, a name of recent introduction, we should certainly take the liberty of altering it; but, as it has been long known under the title of Musk Rose, however vague and imperfect the reference, we do not think ourselves authorized to change it.