# "WOODEN ROSES" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216 "2000-03-24T19:37:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MIG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MIG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MIG)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/1 "2000-03-25T06:23:00Z")
There is a type of tree ( I believe its a Cedar or Cypress)that produces cones in the shape of wooden roses. I would like to know what the name of it is, and where they are found. ---
**Author:** ![InutilisVisEst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d2c977/32.png) [@InutilisVisEst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InutilisVisEst)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/2 "2000-03-24T19:37:00Z")
It’s hemlock. The cones **are** rose-shaped, but only about 1" across. The trees grow all over, but there’s no point in picking cones yourself. Just visit [this site](http://www.angelfire.com/nj/pinecones/hemlock.html), where you can get 1000 cones for $15. Hard to beat 1.5 cents per cone. * * * I lead a boring life of relative unimportance. Really. ---
**Author:** ![MIG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MIG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MIG)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/3 "2000-03-24T19:56:00Z")
Actually the cone that I am talking about is around 2 or 3 inches across (about the size of a tennis ball) and have a relatively low profile. I am actually intersted in acquiring th tree itself, not just the cones, to possibly be used in a landscaping concept. ---
**Author:** ![Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moose_and_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/4 "2000-03-24T20:10:00Z")
I have three of the type of wood-rose you describe and you’re right, they look almost exactly like a real rose made out of wood - more squat than what is shown on the webpage (link provided by InutilisVisEst), about 3 inches across. Don’t know exactly what this guy is selling, but you might contact him and see if this is the plant you’re looking for: [http://www.algy.com/herb/SEEDBOARD/messages/150.html](http://www.algy.com/herb/SEEDBOARD/messages/150.html) Might be we’re both calling it the wrong thing. I also found this: [http://www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/kengif/rosagym.htm](http://www.stanford.edu/~rawlings/kengif/rosagym.htm) ---
**Author:** ![InutilisVisEst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d2c977/32.png) [@InutilisVisEst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InutilisVisEst)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/5 "2000-03-24T21:39:00Z")
Yeah, I think the wood rose seeds are for the flower, not the evergreen. That was not the best photo of hemlock cones. My mother loves them, and is always eager to get them when she visit the Carolinas – they’re usually more squat and rose-shaped, but still only about an inch across. M&S - do your cones have a thickened tip with a spike, like pine cones? If it’s just flat, mostly round scales, then it certainly sounds like a cypress or cedar, although their cones are usually not all that big either. Have you tried a major hobby store chain? They frequently carry pine cones, so maybe you could find the rose-style cones and see if the package IDs the tree type. * * * I lead a boring life of relative unimportance. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moose_and_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/6 "2000-03-24T22:07:00Z")
[quote] M&S - do your cones have a thickened tip with a spike, like pine cones? If it’s just flat, mostly round scales, then it certainly sounds like a cypress or cedar, although their cones are usually not all that big either. [quote] They really don’t look ANYthing like a pine cone - no thick tip, no spike. They look like a squat, fully-opened rose, with delicate “scales” or “flakes” for petals. The largest is about 3 inches across, the other two slightly smaller. Unfortunately, gramma passed on, so I can’t ask her where she got them… ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/7 "2000-03-25T00:37:00Z")
Another possibility is Merremia tuberosa, or Hawaiian Wood Rose (though it is not native to Hawaii). It’s in the morning glory family and has yellow flowers, with five lobed palmate leaves. After the plant flowers, the woody calyx surrounding the seed pod looks like a satiny wooden rose (well, somewhat). Here is the University of Hawaii’s page on it: [http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/cw\_smith/mer\_tub.htm](http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/cw_smith/mer_tub.htm) * * * Dominus ex equo descendit, villamque intravit. ---
**Author:** ![Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moose_and_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/8 "2000-03-25T15:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > After the plant flowers, the woody calyx surrounding the seed pod looks like a satiny wooden rose (well, somewhat). Hmmm, very pretty, but it’s not what I have here. I’m home now and can give you more details on their appearance/make-up. My wood roses look more like (mutant) pine cones, than spent flowers. The largest is 3.25 in. in diameter and about 2 in. tall, the smallest is 2.25 in. diameter and about 1.25 in. tall. The “petals” are quite hard and shaped similarly to a regular pine cone’s parts (what _are_ they called, leaves? flakes?) - kind of triangular and thicker and wider at the outer edge, but less thick than regular pine cones, and much wider at the outer edge. In between the hard “petals” are very thin wing-looking things (which I assume are attached deep inside to tiny seeds), similar to those helicopter type wings seen on other seeds, designed to help the plant propagate using the wind. Keep in mind, I got these wood roses from my grandmother years ago, and _she_ had them for years, so who knows where they came from or if this type of plant/tree is still growing anywhere, at all. I’ll ask my mother if she knows where gram got these things. ---
**Author:** ![Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moose_and_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/9 "2000-03-25T22:15:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll ask my mother if she knows where gram got these things. Mom’s got no idea, but will ask her horticulture group. Updates as they arrive. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2000, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/10 "2000-03-26T03:59:00Z")
Could these have been altered from their original form to appear more roselike? Petals removed, say? ---
**Author:** ![Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Moose\_and\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moose_and_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-roses/9216/11 "2000-03-27T04:29:00Z")
Here’s your info, **MIG** : [http://www.angelfire.com/nj/pinecones/cedar.html](http://www.angelfire.com/nj/pinecones/cedar.html) This note from the PineConeLady who runs the above site: They are Cedar Roses!! They are actually the tops off a larger Cedar cone. When these larger cones drop, for some reason, the tops pop off, leaving these “roses” on the ground. The cones you have are from the evergreen conifer called Deodar Cedar. They thrive mostly in the USA up to Zone 6. (see any plant guide of Amercia) They need lots of sun and prefer well-drained and somewhat dry soil. They are Native to the Himalayas of India. I do have a picture of a Cedar Rose on my site. Cedar Cones | Pinecones & Podz [http://www.angelfire.com/nj/pinecones/cedar.html](http://www.angelfire.com/nj/pinecones/cedar.html) Hope this helps! Regards, TriziaLee The PineConeLady