Rosa × damascena

Rosa × damascena
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Rosa
Species:
R. × damascena
Binomial name
Rosa × damascena

Rosa × damascena (Latin for damascene rose), more commonly known as the Damask rose, or sometimes as the Iranian Rose, Bulgarian rose, Taif rose & "Emirati rose", Ispahan rose, Castile rose, and Đulbešećerka (Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans) is a rose hybrid derived from Rosa gallica and Rosa moschata. DNA analysis has shown that a third species, Rosa fedtschenkoana, made some genetic contributions to the Damask rose.

The flowers are renowned for their fine fragrance and are commercially harvested for rose oil (either "rose otto" or "rose absolute") used in perfumery and to make rose water and "rose concrete". The flower petals are also edible. They are used to flavor food, as a garnish, as an herbal tea, and preserved in sugar as gulkand. The Damask rose is the national flower of Iran.

In 2019, the Damask rose was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists as an element of Syrian cultural heritage.