Sweet-brier

It is a dense deciduous shrub 2–3 meters (6.6–9.8 ft) high and across, with the stems bearing numerously hooked prickles. The foliage has a strong apple-like fragrance. The leaves are pinnately compound, 5–9 cm (2.0–3.5 in) long, with 5–9 rounded to oval leaflets with a serrated margin, and numerous glandular hairs. The flowers are 1.8–3 cm in diameter, the five petals being pink with a white base, and the numerous stamens yellow; the flowers are produced in clusters of 2–7 together, from late spring to mid-summer. The fruit is a globose to oblong red hip 1–2 cm in diameter.

Rosa rubiginosa is native to most of Europe with the exception of the extreme north (above 61°N), where it inhabits pastures and thorny bushes from the montane to the subalpine floor, with a sunny, continental climate. It is somewhat rare, with isolated specimens near roads and pastures frequented by cattle. Its presence is doubtful in western Asia. In Southern Europe it lives in higher altitudes, usually 1,000 to 1,700 m (3,300 to 5,600 ft). In Portugal it is classified as Critically Endangered and is restricted to the Serra da Estrela range.

In addition to its pink flowers, it is valued for its scent and the hips that form after the flowers and persist well into the winter. During World War II, the British relied on rose hips and hops as presumed sources of vitamins A and C, leading to the British wartime expression: "We are getting by on our hips and hops."

Its name eglantine is from Middle English eglentyn, from Old French aiglantin (adj.), from aiglent 'sweetbrier', from Vulgar Latin *aculentus (with the ending of spinulentus 'thorny, prickly'), from Latin aculeus 'prickle', from acus 'needle'. Sweet refers to the sweet, apple fragrance of the leaves, while briar ~ brier refers to it being a thorny bush.