Preliminary Indications for
Green Rose Rosa chinensis viridiflora

Rose Family (Rosaceae)

Habitat and range: The Green Rose appears to be a cultivar of the Chinese rose, Rosa chinensis, but its true origin is unclear. It is not likely that it originated in China (as did the original Chinese rose). It is associated with alchemy in some literature.

Flower essence locale: Terra Flora biodynamic gardens

Plant description: The Green Rose is a low-growing (3-ft, 1 m) evergreen shrub, very twiggy.

Flower description: The flower is very unusual, without true petals. Some sources call them bracts, others call them sepals. In either case, they are greenish in color, with reddish-brown streaks. The center is full of hairy reddish-brown stamens. The flowers have a peppery scent and bloom up to 6 weeks.

Gestures and signatures: This unique green rose stays close to the vegetative stage, never metamorphosing beyond the leaf-like bracts/sepals—the closest it gets to a true corolla (petals). The pink or red color seen in many roses here only "stains" the leaf-like inflorescence. The plant appears to have stopped its development in order to remain in a green, leaf-like stage, yet at the same time to approach the flowering gesture.

Initial impressions and case reports: The color signature and plant family affiliation help in gaining a rudimentary understanding of this plant. It is one of the Green flowers that help in re-aligning the heart with the "green" life forces of the Earth, or we could say with the "heart" of Mother Nature. This flower seems especially related to a quality of fear that closes down the heart chakra and keeps the personality separated from its larger identity and connection with the living earth. The Green Rose opens the heart chakra, not so much to personal love and personal relationships, but to the ability to serve, to care for and to be connected to the pulsing force of life on earth.

Definitive indications for Green Rose:

Positive qualities: Compassion as the doorway of connection to all living beings; love as a form of transcendent embrace and trust

Patterns of imbalance: Fear, mistrust, defensiveness; fear of being attacked or annihilated and thus developing barriers to other living beings