# Martha Stewart's Brown Rose **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427 "2006-03-22T13:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/1 "2006-03-22T13:55:47Z")
The post [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7217740&postcount=1) talks of a mystical rose that is entirely brown in color. And, simply mystified that the thread was able to go for some distance without anyone even offering a suggestion for what it could be (something I would never imagine on this board), I know am wondering just what is this flower if it really exists. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/2 "2006-03-22T14:38:08Z")
It’s apparently a variety called Leonides. Here’s a blurb garnered from the web: “As seen in MARTHA STEWART LIVING magazine’s special Spring 1999 Wedding Edition (p.198 & 199). Heralded by late summer and fall brides as ‘the ultimate.’ Leonides is subtle, earthy, and modern. Leonides is the first brown rose to ascend the market.” Of course, the non-colorblind would call this rose “red.” See [here](http://www.romanticflowers.com/leonides.html), for example. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/3 "2006-03-22T15:08:23Z")
Am I the only person who read the title and thought of something besides flowers? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/4 "2006-03-22T15:16:33Z")
I was able to find [this](http://uncommonrose.biz/r/coffee.html). Not truly brown, but some nice shades. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/5 "2006-03-22T16:26:10Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Of course, the non-colorblind would call this rose “red.” See [here](http://www.romanticflowers.com/leonides.html), for example. I do pronounce thee red! May not come as advertised I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/6 "2006-03-22T16:37:47Z")
> [@bizzwire](#): > > Am I the only person who read the title and thought of something besides flowers? Not intended. Though I did have a feeling like there was something fishy about the title as I wrote it. Let us just leave the possibilities to our fellow readers. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/7 "2006-03-22T16:43:55Z")
> [@bizzwire](#): > > Am I the only person who read the title and thought of something besides flowers? You dirty, dirty bird. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/8 "2006-03-22T17:10:22Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > You dirty, dirty bird. > > Me too. Me three. It’s the only reason I clicked on this. That says nothing good about me. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/9 "2006-03-22T17:24:25Z")
Well me four, so we’re all in this filthy boat together. How could anyone describe that as being “brown”. An odd red I’ll give you, but clearly not brown. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-brown-rose/349427/10 "2006-03-22T17:28:21Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Of course, the non-colorblind would call this rose “red.” See [here](http://www.romanticflowers.com/leonides.html), for example. Yabbut: [ > [@](#): > > Garden-rose hybridizers have been trying for more than a decade to breed a brown rose to compete with the ubiquitous, annoying (it’s scentless), Ecuadorian rose Leonides, which grows well only under glass (grown outdoors it’s unarguably orange and a bad shade at that). At last, the formidable American hybridizer Tom Carruth has emerged triumphant with Hot Cocoa, a fragrant Floribunda certain to excite floriculturists. > The first thing to know about this rose is that you should trust no photograph you see of it. Hot Cocoa’s actual basic color is brown, which, I’m assured by fine photographers, is one of the most difficult colors to capture accurately. Then, too, petals of Hot Cocoa include shades of rust, even purple, in their complicated color scheme and these hues are often exaggerated in supersaturated color images. Think brown --Hot Cocoa does. ]([http://www.gardenvalley.com/parade.html](http://www.gardenvalley.com/parade.html)) Apparently photos just don’t do it justice.