Roses (suit) explained

Native Name:	German: Rosen
Deck:	Swiss-suited playing cards
Invented:	15th century

Roses or Flowers is one of the four playing card suits in a deck of Swiss-suited playing cards. This suit was invented in 15th century German speaking Switzerland and is a survivor from a large pool of experimental suit signs created to replace the Latin suits. It is equivalent to the Hearts suit in German and French decks.^[1] It is equivalent to the German Leaves (suit),^{[2] [3] [4]} as both the roses and leaves suits have a central stem on their pip patterns so that they can make a pair with the Swiss-German Acorns (suit). It may have derived from the floral patterns on the North-Italian Coins (suit).

Characteristics

The rose is represented by a stylised yellow flower, with six leaves and an orange pistil.

In German, the suit is called German: Rosen.

Cards

The following images depict the suit of Roses from an 1850 Swiss-suited pack:

Notes and References

1. Book: Dummett. Michael. The Game of Tarot. 1980. Duckworth. London. 10–32.
2. Web site: Games played with Swiss suited cards. McLeod. John. pagat.com. July 22, 2024.
3. Web site: The History of Playing Cards: The Evolution of the Modern Deck. Roya. Will. October 16, 2018. playingcarddecks.com. July 26, 2024.
4. Web site: Switzerland: Swiss Suits. Pollett. Andrea. Andy's Playing Cards. July 28, 2024.