I’m hip!

October 15, 2010 at 3:37 am (Uncategorized)

Actually, I’m rose hip. I am now, at least. For most of my life, I remained somehow completely unaware of the existence of rose hips, even though my mom always grew roses in her gardens.

Maybe she didn’t choose varieties with prominent hips. What is a hip, you say? It’s just a different name for the seed pod that forms after a rose flower is fertilized and the petals fall away—in other words, the fruit of a rosebush. What’s interesting about rose hips is their long history of medicinal use. They’re extraordinarily rich in vitamin C, which means they’re useful in treating colds and flu, and are often made into teas. Popular Red Zinger, put out by the Celestial Seasonings company since 1972–I remember the wonder of discovering it back when I was in college, at the first vegetarian restaurant I’d ever encountered—is based on a time-honored marriage between rose hips and hibiscus flowers. When German blockades prevented shipments of citrus fruits from reaching England during World War II, the government urged citizens to feed children vitamin C syrup made from rose hips to prevent scurvy. And in Hungary, hips are made into a traditional wine called palinka.

I don’t use my rose hips for anything, but I do enjoy them. The best ones appear on my ‘Königin von Danemark’ rose, which (shh, don’t tell them I have favorites!) is the favorite of all my antique roses, even though it insists on sending up new shoots all over the (thank heaven!) small front-yard plot I grow it in—and has THE MOST vicious thorns of any rose I’ve ever seen. To redeem itself from this vice, which means it’s always catching in your hair and clothes while you’re trying to do anything anywhere near it, it has the most wonderful, sweet, haunting, subtle fragrance–you have to get your nose right up in there, but it’s worth the trouble. The hips are big and bright red-orange, and actually look as though they’re good for you. Maybe this year I’ll get off my butt and harvest them, and have Marcia over for tea.

Photo courtesy of Beeches Nursery, UK.