I grew up thinking hips and haws were different things, hips belonged to roses, haws to hawthorns. So I thought. Now I realize they are different names for the same thing. A rosehip, or haw, or hep, is the red or orange fruit of the rose. They begin to form after pollination in the spring or early summer and ripen in late summer and autumn. Here, they hang onto the wild rose bushes all winter. If the birds don’t spot them.

Rosehips are high in vitamin C and, knowing this, I really should pick some and have a go at making something. Tea, jam, syrup. They can also, apparently, be eaten raw; if you avoid eating the hairs inside the fruit. I’ve never done this and I do not recommend eating anything picked wild unless you are 100% sure what it is: if in doubt, take it to your local farmacia.

5 to remember
un arrecife – a rosehip
la polinización – the pollination
tener una ida – to have a go
no lo recomiendo – I do not recommend
la farmacia – the pharmacy

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Hips, haws & heps: wild roses in #Spain via @Spanish_Valley #garden http://wp.me/p3dYp6-29g