Herb of the Month – Rose

06 Dec Herb of the Month – Rose

A Rose for Your Heart

Could it be more than just a coincidence that we give roses to express our love, gratitude, sympathy – the stuff of emotions? These beauties are celebrated and exchanged the world over, however, their ability to soothe and balance our emotions goes far deeper than fine fragrance and good looks.

Rose classification

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Trachyophytes (angiosperms)
Class: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae 
Sub Family: Rosoideae
Tribe: Roseae
Genus: Rosa
Species: multiple spp.

Common Uses

Rose (Rosa spp.) is a time-honoured herbal remedy associated with heart meridian health. It acts as a gently cooling nervine, mild anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory and sedative which is perfect for balancing emotions, reducing excess heat and restoring calm during summer. It has also been used traditionally to fortify the respiratory and immune systems and to help with seasonal allergies, heat-based diarrhea, headaches, sore throats, irritated eyes, skin conditions (acne), heat rashes and fevers, period pain, anxiety, grief, heart-ache, irritability, exhaustion and insomnia.

So… The key here is don’t just admire your roses from a distance – eat them! Actually, even though you can toss a few petals into your salads, it’s a bit more sophisticated than that. Let’s take a look…

Common Herbal Preparations for Rose

Common preparations include drying the petals and infusing them into teas, gargles and tinctures, making petal and rosehip syrups, jams, jellies, honey infusions and rose water, and distilling out the aromatic ‘essential’ rose oil known as rose attar or rose otto.

Nutritional Value

Rosehips are a rich source of vitamin C. They also contain vitamins K, E and beta carotene. Phytochemicals present in rose oil that produce many of its therapeutic benefits are citronellol, geraniol and nerol. These are believed to have a mildly sedative effect on the sympathetic nervous system.

Therapeutic Actions

Antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, astringent, nervine, sedative. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is pacifying and ‘yin’ in quality.

Rose is a wonderfully pacifying and cooling summer herb in whatever form you encounter it – breathe it in deeply and don’t let any of its hidden qualities go to waste!

For more summer health tips read our Chinese Medicine Guidelines For Summer here. LINK Discover more Herbs of the Month and other health articles at our blog.