Summer brings the sweet scent of native roses

Hiking in the North Idaho woods on an early- to mid-summer afternoon you may catch the scent of roses. We're blessed to have several native species including the Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana). Commonly referred to as wild rose, Spalding’s rose or bristly rose, the species name nutkana is a variant of Nootka, the name of the American Natives inhabiting Canada's Vancouver Island and northwest Washington.