Fact and Roses

THEIR FRAGRANCE IS USED TO MAKE PERFUMES
We all know the saying: Stop and smell the roses. Well, roses weren’t chosen for this phrase by chance; their lovely aroma is a popular floral scent and is even used in many perfumes.

Specifically, rose oil has been an important ingredient in the perfume industry for centuries. The process of extracting rose oil from flowers requires a huge amount of roses; just one gram of oil is produced from two thousand roses. The rose scent comes from microscopic perfume glands on the petals.

I was astonished to learn that the Rose Valley in Bulgaria produces 85% of the world’s rose oil.

The rose scent is one of the flower’s most treasured characteristics. Greeks and Romans made perfume from roses, and to this day, their scent is an important element in many of the world’s best and most successful perfume blends. Centifolia and damask roses are the most common choices used to make perfume. The petals are gathered at night as they are at their most fragrant just before sunrise. The essential oils are extracted and used to mix other ingredients in order to make perfume.

ROSEHIPS OF SOME ROSE SPECIES ARE KNOWN TO BE FULL OF VITAMIN C
Roses also grow a berry-shaped fruit commonly referred to as ‘rose hips’. The fruit can be orange, red, dark purple, or even black. Rose hips are packed with vitamin C and can be dried to create a refreshing tea. This is why rosehips are sometimes used to create jam, jelly & marmalade. The hip also has minor medicinal uses, used in food supplements and can be pressed or filtered to make rose hip syrup.