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Rosa canina × R. caesia (R. × dumalis Bechst.)

Account Summary

Under-recorded, probably quite frequent.

1929; Carrothers, E.N.; Farnaght, SE of Tamlaght.

There are five or possibly six Fermanagh records for this hybrid. The earliest record, detailed above, was originally identified by the Kew expert of the time, Mr Wolley-Dod, as R. canina var. dumalis, which in modern terms can be either this hybrid, or R. caesia subsp. glauca, which is the more common of the two R. caesia subspecies. There may well be a voucher for this record in either BEL or possibly DBN since it was Praeger (1946) who published the record.

R. canina and R. caesia grow in similar habitats and these are also where the hybrid mostly occurs, ie all three are mainly found growing in hedgerows. The hybrid has well-formed fully fertile hips and it also grows on woodland edges and along rides, in scrub, both inland and coastal, on roadside banks and on the banks of lakes, rivers and streams (Sell & Murrell 2014). Its fertility allows the hybrid to also colonise numerous kinds of newly available artificial habitats, including abandoned quarries, spoil heaps, dismantled railways and roadside cuttings. This colonising ability also means that the occurrence of R. × dumalis extends well beyond the distribution of the less widespread parent, R. caesia, to a much greater extent than occurs in any other rose hybrid in B & I. This hybrid actually behaves more like as if it was a species and, indeed in mainland Europe, many authors regards it as such, referring to it as R. subcollina (Stace et al. 2015).

Both of these parent roses and their hybrid are attractive to grazing animals and in more heavily grazed landscapes of the N & W of Britain they are restricted to cliffs and other inaccessible sites that feral goats and deer cannot reach (Stace et al. 2015).

The details of the other Fermanagh records of this hybrid are: Rosskit Island, Lough Melvin, 1948, MCM & D; lakeshore hedgerow at Muckross, near Kesh, 13 September 1974, P. Hackney, BEL; bay and roadside by peninsula W of Rushin, Upper Lough Macnean, 14 September 1974, P. Hackney, BEL; hedge at Killadeas Church, 11 September 1975, P. Hackney, BEL; Lisrace, 1 km NW of Lacky Bridge, 6 September 1997, RHN & RSF.

So little time has been devoted to the discrimination of our local Dog-roses that RHN and the current author (RSF) suspect that, as is the case elsewhere in NI, R. × dumalis is seriously under-recorded. It may be more frequent than R. caesia and it might even be more common than R. canina s.s. (P. Hackney, in: Flora of Northern Ireland web site 2005). Having said that, there are only six modern R. × dumalis records in the Flora of Co Dublin, despite the primary editor having completed his doctoral research on Irish roses (Doogue et al. 1998).

The thinly scattered but widespread distribution of R. × dumalis mapped for Ireland in the New Atlas and in the Hybrid Flora of the British Isles (Stace et al. 2015) is at variance with this view, however, and the isolated, comprehensive hectad representation of the plant in Co Kildare (H19), only serves to highlight the very incomplete nature of rose recording on the whole island. The British distribution of this hybrid is also patchy and unfortunately, in such cases, it is the occurrence of competent interested recorders that the map really displays.

Growth form and preferred habitats

A small, much branched, usually pale greyish-green, summer annual therophyte up to 10 cm tall, with digitately or palmately lobed leaves, this sexually reproducing form of Aphanes is very much more local than the apomictic A. arvensis (Parsley-piert). It is greener and more slender than the latter, flowers from April to October and has even smaller fruits than A. arvensis s.s., showing no constriction between the upper and lower parts, and the sepals are convergent (New Flora of the BI 2019, p. 277, Figs 1, 2). It is less common than A. arvensis s.s. and appears to be confined to short turf, mossy areas on acidic sandy or gravelly soils, or dry rocky ground, eg on roadsides, along tracks and in quarries and sand-pits. It is not as confined to well-drained soils as A. arvensis, but is more definitely a plant of acidic conditions (Garrard & Streeter 1983). In Fermanagh, these conditions are also found locally on or near lakeshores and on river banks.

Fermanagh occurrence

The limited number of records that have accumulated in the Fermanagh Flora Database (18 finds in 14 tetrads) are mainly the work of RHN, facts that strongly suggest this rather insignificant-looking little species is under-recorded. Otherwise, as the tetrad map shows, it appears to be very local around the Tempo area, with very few (six or seven) records elsewhere in the county.

Additional to the first record are the following: Poll Beg District, NW of Boho, 11 June 1978, M.J.P. Scannell, DBN; all the remaining records involve RHN – Knockennis, 3 km NE of Brougher Mountain, 7 July 1988; Pubble Bridge, Tempo River, 1 October 1988; fen at Feddan Bog, 8 June 1992; fields at Largy Lough, 13 August 1992; sand pit at Pubble Bridge, 11 September 1994 & 20 August 1999, with RSF; Drumcreen, Ballinamallard River, 16 April 1995; roadside Ballyreagh, 5 km NW of Tempo, 31 December 1995, with HJN; roadside at Tempo, 13 April 1996; Tully, W of Edenmore, 21 June 1997, with RSF; N of Many Burns Bridge, Many Burns River, 3 May 1999; Pubble Forest, 1 December 2001; sandpit at Pubble Bridge, 28 August 2004, with RSF; Agnaglack, 20 April 2009, with HJN; Gublusk Bay, Lower Lough Erne, 28 February 2010; Killyreagh House near Tamlagh, 10 June 2010.

British and Irish occurrence

The New Atlas map shows the species widespread throughout both islands, but much more thinly scattered in Ireland, yet with a slightly greater presence in the south and the sunny south-east corner, both areas which attract more visitors and where the local recorders are more energetic than the norm (Preston et al. 2002). Thus the mapped distribution of A. australis across the whole of Ireland suggests probable under-recording in comparison with the situation in Britain.

European and world occurrence

It stretches northwards from a scattered presence in Spain and Portugal through W Europe to S Sweden and eastwards to NE Poland, the Carpathians and the Adriatic. Very local in the Balkans and present only on the W Mediterranean Isles (Minorca, Mallorca, Sardinia and Sicily), but also recorded on Madeira (Press & Short 1994; Sell & Murrell 2014). Beyond Europe, it occurs in Morocco and Algeria and is introduced in E & S parts of N America (Hultén & Fries 1986, Map 1156).

Threats

None.