Does the phrase 'blood roses' mean anything?

Factual Questions
1

I first encountered it as the title of a photo series by Logan White, and I found the phrase intriguing, so I Googled it. It is also, apparently, a Tori Amos song, and the title of two books. But I don’t know the meaning or origin of the phrase. Is a blood rose actually a kind of flower? Is it a euphemism? Is it actually a common phrase or did these people just come up with it or borrow from each other?

Thanks.

2

According to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s book “Black Roses” (No doubt one of the books you found on Google) it refers to the skin eruptions which were a common symptom of the Black Plague.

3

Just a WAG on my part, but yeah this reminds me of how the nursery rhyme Ring around the Rosies supposedly refers to red marks on the skin from the Black Death.

4

The blood roses thing may be true, but this one’s a myth.