Invasive SpeciesBeach rose

Rosa rugosa
FOUND by kkellyy15
2012-09-27
Kennebunk
ID Confirmed
Quality checked by kkellyy15
Peer reviewed by
Field Notes
I had only been to Parsons Beach once before, but after talking about it with a family member, we both believed that we would find Beach Rose bushes in massive amounts along the sides of the sandy path leading from the dirt drive to the beach. So I went out after the sun had already gone down, flashlight in hand, my destination set in mind and my father as my co-investigator for the evening. There were a few people walking along the dirt road to the beach when we got there, but we were lucky enough to have the beach to ourselves to do the searching. Not to our surprise at all, we found plenty of Beach Rose bushes along the sides of the sandy path. We walked down on the beach after and found a great deal of seaweed with bits of live sponge washing up on the beach with the tide and horseshoe tracks slowly washing away in the sand. On a side note, my GPS app on my iPhone was definitely not as accurate as I had been hoping.
Supporting Evidence
Photo of my evidence.
When looking at this photo, you can see that the leaflets are arranged in a compound pinnate fashion.
Photo of my evidence.
In this photo, you can see the characteristic thorns covering the stems. The thorns are thin, straight, and sharp.
Photo of my evidence.
This photo shows the characteristic shape and color of the leaflets. They are oval, dark-green, shiny, and have toothed edges.
Species Observation: Species Looked For
Did you find it?: 
I think I found it
Scientific name:
Rosa rugosa
Common name:
Beach rose
Sampling method: 
Just looking around
Photo of our sampling method.
Place Studied
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Map this species
Latitude: 
N 43.323889 °
Longitude: 
W -70.580833 °
Observation Site Information
A photo of our study site.
Habitat: 
Coastal - Beach or dune
Trip Information
Name:
Parsons Beach
Trip date: 
Thu, 2012-09-27 21:00
Town or city: 
Kennebunk
Type of investigation: 
Species Survey
Ecosystem: 
Coastal
Watershed: 
Piscataqua
Time of low tide: 
Thu, 2012-09-27 03:33

Comments

... an evening walk on the beach with your dad. Life does not get any better than that!

You're correct; you've found beach rose. Your photos clearly show the leaf texture, unique winged stipules at the base of each stem, and thorns, all very characteristic of beach rose.

Good job!

thank you Lois Stack