Rosa mollis explained

Rosa mollis is a species of wild rose.Common name: soft downy-rose.^[1] It is most closely related to Rosa villosa. Rosa mollis can be distinguished from Rosa villosa by its longer leaves and pruinose stem, which is absent in the latter.^[2] Rosa mollis usually blossoms in Germany for approximately 5 weeks from the end of June to July^[3]

It is native to the Caucasus and parts of Europe: the British Isles, Scandinavia, and the lands around the Baltic. It has been commonly reported in isolated areas throughout the rest of Europe; this fact has prompted the editors of Atlas Florae Europaeae to raise the question whether these may not be cases of misidentification of either Rosa villosa or Rosa sherardii.

References

1. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/rosa/mollis/ Rosa mollis Sm.
2. Kellner . Alexandra . Ritz . Christiane M . Wissemann . Volker . 2013-12-20 . Low genetic and morphological differentiation in the European species complex of Rosa sherardii, R. mollis and R. villosa (Rosa section Caninae subsection Vestitae): Population Genetics in Dog Roses (Vestitae) . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society . en . 174 . 2 . 240–256 . 10.1111/boj.12124 . free .
3. Kellner . Alexandra . Ritz . Christiane M. . Wissemann . Volker . 2012-10-19 . Hybridization with invasive Rosa rugosa threatens the genetic integrity of native Rosa mollis: Hybridization in Rosa . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society . en . 170 . 3 . 472–484 . 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01298.x . free .

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