Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa.

Flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. There are over a hundred species and thousands of cultivars.

(Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)įor further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.įor more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. The Scottish historian, Robert Balmain Mowat (1883-1941) writes that these wars saw 'the death of the old England and the beginning of the new.' But they also saw the emergence of great personalities: the noble Richard of York, Warwick the Kingmaker, King Edward IV, indolent and energetic by turns, and his relentless opponent, Margaret of Anjou, a true she-wolf of France.

The Wars of the Roses, 1377-1471, were a series of English civil wars fought for the control of the throne of England between two rival cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet, Lancaster and York. LibriVox recording of The Wars of the Roses 1377-1471 by Robert Balmain Mowat.

Download free of the roses