The Burnet Rose is different in several ways from the Dog Rose. It grows
in early summer on sandy sea shores and on heaths, but not in the
hedges, and the flowers are usually white.
It is a much smaller plant than the Dog Rose. Its leaves grow closely
crowded together in a small, low bush, and there are no long shoots
running out from the plant.
The main stem of the Burnet Rose is a bright pink colour, and instead of
having big hooks here and there it is covered from top to bottom with
fine sharp prickles of all sizes.
The green sepals are pointed, but they are not cut up into leafy tips as
in the Dog Rose. Neither do they fold back over the seed-vessel after
the flower is withered, but remain standing straight up at the top of
the berry.
The seed-vessel of this rose is rounder than the hip of the Dog Rose.
When ripe it is a dark purple colour which is almost black.
The leaves are made up of leaflets which grow in pairs opposite each
other on a leaf stalk, and there is always an odd leaflet at the end of
the stalk. They are small, nearly oval, and the edges are cut all round
into fine teeth.