Species › Plants › Swamp Rose

Swamp Rose

Rosa palustris

CommonPlant
Illustration of Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)

Swamp Rose is a native shrub of wetland margins and boggy shores that produces fragrant pink flowers in June and July. Its bright red rose hips ripen in fall and persist through winter, providing valuable food for cedar waxwings, hermit thrushes, and many other birds. It grows in dense thickets that offer excellent nesting cover.

Habitat
Wetland edges, bog shores, and swamp margins in eastern North America
Diet
Rose hips eaten by cedar waxwings, hermit thrush, and small mammals
How common
Common

Best time to see a Swamp Rose

The best time to see a Swamp Rose is May–July, when about 60% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 7,621 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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