A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses.

Rosa willmottiae, Miss Willmott’s Rose or Willmott’s Rose, is a species in the genus Rosa in the plant family Rosaceae. It grows at an altitude of 2,300 to 3,150 metres in dry valleys in western Sichuan, China. It forms an arching deciduous shrub 2 to 3 m high, and as much across. The branches are covered in many straight prickles. The pinnate leaves typically have 7 to 9 small bluish-green leaflets which emit a pleasant fragrance when bruised. It was introduced to western cultivation by Ernest Wilson in 1904 and was named after the collector and horticulturist Ellen Willmott. The flowers are small, 25 to 40 mm, lilac-pink, and are borne on short laterals all along the length of the branches in late spring/early summer. The hips are small, becoming orange-red and losing their tips when ripe. This is one of the few wild roses that merits a place in a mixed border or even as a specimen shrub and when in flower it is the embodiment of beauty.