Rosa nitida

R. nitida forms a low, suckering, deciduous shrub, growing up to a meter in height, although often less. Its stems are thin and covered in fine bristles. Its pinnate leaves have 7 to 9 shining leaflets which turn bright red, yellow and purple in the fall. Its small pink flowers appear in summer and are subtly but sweetly scented, smelling like Convallaria ("Lily-of-the-Valley").^[2] They are followed by small, round, red hips.

Rosa nitida is very hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F), and will grow in a wide variety of soil conditions, including soils which are poor, acidic and waterlogged. In the wild it grows in bogs and by the edges of ponds. In the garden it is admired for its good leaf coloration in the fall.

R. nitida is known to hybridize with other Rosa species within its range. Hybrids between R. nitida and both R. palustris and R. virginiana have been identified in Nova Scotia and New England.^[3]

R. nitida is designated by the IUCN Red List and NatureServe as a secure (G5) species globally. In Canada, the species is secure (N5) nationally.^[4] It does not have a definite national status in the United States due to the fact that it has not received a status rank in states it is native to. It is designated as an imperiled species (S2) in Vermont and has been possibly extirpated (SH) in Connecticut and Ontario.^[5] The table below lists the subnational ranks of the species in each Canadian province and U.S. state where it has received a designation.