The Red Rose of Lancaster (a rose gules) is the county flower of Lancashire.
The exact species or cultivar which the red rose relates to is uncertain, but it is thought to be Rosa gallica officinalis.
The rose was first adopted as an heraldic device by the first Earl of Lancaster and became the emblem of Lancashire following the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
Famous quotes containing the words red rose, red and/or rose:
“I know a little garden-close
Set thick with lily and red rose,
Where I would wander if I might
From dewy dawn to dewy night,”
—William Morris (1834–1896)
“Here thou art painted in the dress
Of an inhuman murderess;
Examining upon our hearts
Thy fertile shop of cruel arts:
Engines more keen than ever yet
Adorned tyrant’s cabinet,
Of which the most tormenting are
Black eyes, red lips, and curled hair.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)
“When the rose reigns, and locks with ointments shine,
Let rigid Cato read these lines of mine.”
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674)