| Author | Message | ||
     ann peck (Anntn6b) Bug Squisher Username: anntn6b Post Number: 259 Registered: 01-2006 |
For the Morocco occurrences, I wonder if they are refugia left over from the last glacial/periglacial time. I can see someone writing a great proposal for collecting in Andalusia and the Atlas Mountains and then doing some basic gene jockeying comparisons. And looking for 'genetic drift' and times of same. | ||
| Behcet Fenercioglu (Jedmar) Shovel Pruner Username: jedmar Post Number: 139 Registered: 10-2006 |
I would claim that at least Morocco and Andalusia/Spain are signs that R. damascena was propagated not naturally, but in gardens with the Arab expansion in the area. Andalusia itself was an Arab province (later state) between 711-1492. (OT: The Arab conquest in 711 was led by a Tariq ibn Ziad, who crossed into Europe at a location called Jebel-ul-Tariq (Mountain of Tariq) - today Gibr-al-tar) | ||
| ann peck (Anntn6b) Bug Squisher Username: anntn6b Post Number: 257 Registered: 01-2006 |
Tabei-Aghdaei, S. R. et al. 2007. Morphological and oil content variations amongst Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) landraces from different regions of Iran. Scientia Horticulturae 113: 22-28. A very recent paper in Scientia Horticulturae looked at damask roses from the wild in Iran. They are searching for races of damask roses that are more productive for rose oil for pharmaceutical uses. There are several comments in the paper that might be of interest to folks who grow roses. The first is the statement: “Due to the fact that this plant was originally brought to Europe from Damascus, it is called Damask rose. R. damascena first grew wild and it is still self-growing in Caucasus, Syria, Morocco and Andalusia. Iran has also been mentioned as one of its origins. “ (page 44). The second is Table 1 (page 45) with the “geographical origins of Damask rose. landraces” The variability of the sites interested me. Number Climate type ____________________________________________ One Warm and Arid Two Warm, temperate and Arid One Temperate and Arid Two Temperate and semi-arid One Temperate and semi-humid One Temperate and humid Five Cool temperate and semi-arid My commments: This shows a lot of variability in the conditions that damascena tolerates, or that different ‘landraces’ of damascena tolerate. It doesn't begin to touch on the conditions elsewhere. The only map I can think of for damascena is the one in Peter Beales' Classic Roses for the Section Gallicanae (which shows the western side of the Iberian Peninsula but doesn't show any Morocco occurrence. |