Herbal Remedies: How to Use the Herb Rose Hips (Rosa canina)
Herbal Remedies: How to Use the Herb Rose Hips (latin: Rosa canina) The curative potential of rose hips – the flashing red fruits of the dog rose and other types of wild and shrub roses – as been known since the Stone Age. Today, as then, the fruits are mashed into a vitamin rich pulp and consumed raw or cooked. They are also often dried. Rose-hips are used to prepare teas, extracts, purées or marmalades. Plant facts: the dog rose, a main source of rose hips, grows up to 10 feet high and bears fragrant white flowers. The hips, which have a slight sour but pleasant taste, emerged in the fall, after the blooms have faded and the petals have dropped off. Origin: native to Europe, northern Africa and Western and Central Asia, wild and shrub roses now grow in many parts of the United States, too. Parts used: rose-hips can be used fresh or dried for medicinal purposes. To prepare them, cut the fruits open. For wine or a smooth texture and jellies or purées, rem...