Roses are one of the most popular and beloved flowers in the world. They come in a wide variety of colors today, from classic red to sunny yellow, delicate pink, vibrant orange, and many more. But what was the original rose color when roses first appeared? That’s an interesting question to explore. To find the answer, we’ll need to go back in time and examine some rose history and genetics. Keep reading to uncover the origins of rose color.
The Earliest Roses
Roses have a very long history that dates back millions of years. The earliest known fossil evidence of a rose plant is about 35 million years old, found in Florissant, Colorado. The primitive rose fossils show five-petaled flowers, indicating they were similar in appearance to wild roses seen today.
Roses belong to the large Rosaceae family of plants, which also includes fruits like apples, peaches, plums, and almonds. The original wild roses that grew across the Northern Hemisphere were single-petaled with just five petals and had a simple open flower shape. They were pollinated by insects.
Wild roses had several purposes for early human civilizations – their fragrant petals were used for perfumes, medicinal teas and rose water. Rose hips provided nutrition from vitamins. Rose thorns formed protective hedges. Roses became an important part of culture, art, stories and myths across ancient societies. But what did these original wild rose blooms look like?
Rose Color Genetics
To understand the genetics behind original rose colors, we need to look at how rose plants produce flower pigments. Rose blooms get their vibrant colors from pigment molecules called anthocyanins that are synthesized in the petal cells.
There are three key anthocyanin pigments found in roses:
| Cyanidin | Produces red hues |
| Peonidin | Produces purple/maroon hues |
| Pelargonidin | Produces orange/salmon hues |
The different concentrations and combinations of these pigments grant roses their range of possible colors. For example, high cyanidin gives red roses their vivid crimson color. High pelargonidin produces the yellow, orange and peach shades.
The biosynthesis of anthocyanins in roses is primarily controlled by three key genes: RhF3, RhDFR, and RhANS. Wild roses contain the recessive alleles (variants) of these genes, which result in low anthocyanin production and pale colored blooms. However, random mutations over time led to dominant alleles that increased anthocyanin concentrations and gave rise to darker pigmented roses.
The Original Wild Rose Colors
With an understanding of rose pigment genetics, we can deduce that the ancestral wild rose species likely had light and soft colored blooms. The low anthocyanin recessive alleles would have produced blooms in white, very pale pink or translucent yellow shades.
Indeed, if we observe wild roses growing today, such as the ancestors of modern garden roses Rosa gallica, Rosa spinosissima, and Rosa canina, we see they bear single-petaled flowers in subtle white to pale pink hues. Some also display a very light yellow color.
These delicate ‘pastel’ shades are therefore the original rose colors that existed for millions of years until spontaneous genetic mutations led to new colorful rose varieties. The pigmentation remained low and translucent enough for the subtle venation patterns on the petals to still be visible – a hallmark of many old and wild roses.
So in summary, the first original rose flowers were likely soft, delicate whites, pinks and light yellows. Over time, human cultivation selected and enhanced the mutations for darker-colored blooms that had spontaneously occurred in the wild rose populations.
The Arrival of Red Roses
Red is today considered the classic and definitive rose color. When did the first red roses appear?
Some of the earliest written records of red roses come from ancient Rome. Roman authors, philosophers, physicians and poets all mentioned and admired red roses in their writings. Pliny the Elder wrote in the 1st century AD of the cultivation of red roses in Roman gardens.
Red roses were also depicted in ancient Roman frescoes and mosaics, suggesting they were established in Italy by the height of the Roman empire. Roman nobility intensely valued the new red blooms, using them as gifts, room decorations, and garland flowers.
The red rose’s origins likely trace back to Rosa gallica, one of the earliest rose species cultivated for its beauty and fragrance from the Middle East to Europe. Rosa gallica still grows today as a wild shrub across central and southern Europe. The first mutations yielding higher cyanidin pigments probably occurred within populations of this pink-hued wild rose, giving rise to the occasional red-flowered variety.
Ancient Greek and Roman writings did not clearly distinguish between red and pink roses. But by the 17th century, the red rose color we know today was definite and decided. Red roses became symbols of new love, romance and passion. They took center stage as the must-have rose color of European gardens as well as floral bouquets and displays.
Modern Rose Breeding
While red roses existed by the 17th century, they were still mutants and not the dominant form. Rose breeding and selection accelerated from the 1800s onward, firmly establishing red as the most popular rose color.
Breeders crossed red old European rose cultivars together and with newly introduced Chinese rose varieties to develop modern hybrid teas and floribundas. This extensive hybridization aimed to intensify and stabilize the red pigments while also introducing rose traits for recurring bloom, scent, and disease resistance.
The characteristic intense red rose color was thus genetically fixed into modern rose varieties, replacing the fading reds of old. breeders also started developing roses in new colors, such as yellow, coral and white using old European species crosses. This kicked off the multicolored rose revolution we see today.
But it’s important to remember that red is not the original rose color. The old wild rose ancestors displayed delicate pale pinks, whites and light yellows for millions of years. So when you gift someone classic red roses, you’re actually giving them one of the newest rose colors that was extensively bred into the flowers!
Conclusion
When we trace the question – what was the original color of roses – back through history and genetics, the answer becomes clear. The primitive wild rose species bore lightly pigmented blooms in subtle whites, pinks and pale yellows. The first red roses didn’t emerge until spontaneous genetic mutations occurred, likely within Rosa gallica populations, which increased cyanidin pigments.
Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations started cultivating and valuing the novelty of these newly emerged red rose blooms. Intense red only became the quintessential rose color from the 17th century onwards through selective breeding. Wild roses had existed for millions of years prior with transparent, delicate colors. So while red is the color most associated with roses today, it is not the original pigmentation. Pale pinks and whites are the true ancestral rose colors.
References
[1] Fossil Evidence Places Roses With Emerging Angiosperms (Colorado State University)
[2] The Chemistry Of Roses (Compound Interest)
[3] Role of pigmentation-related genes in the Rosaceae (Springer)
[4] Red Roses: A Review of Pigmentation and Colour Factors (The American Rose Magazine)
[5] The History of the Rose: The rise of roses as floral emblems (FTD by Design)