Bloomipedia
Prairie rose (Rosa arkansana)
Photo: Lydia Dexter via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flower profile

Prairie rose

Rosa arkansana

★ Official state flower of Iowa (1897)★ Official state flower of North Dakota (1907)Native in the lower 48

Prairie rose is a flowering plant that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 5 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in May–July.

21states
5of our state lists
2,619U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

🏅
Iowa's official state flower since 1897. Visit the Iowa page → Iowa General Assembly concurrent resolution, May 7, 1897 (Iowa Legislative Services Agency, Iowa State Symbols) The 1897 resolution says only “wild rose”; the wild prairie rose (Rosa pratincola, now treated as Rosa arkansana) is the species usually cited.
🏅
North Dakota's official state flower since 1907. Visit the North Dakota page → N.D. Cent. Code § 54-02-03 The law names “rosa blanda or arkansana”; we show Rosa arkansana, the prairie species.

Quick look

Rosa arkansana, the prairie rose or wild prairie rose, is a species of rose native to a large area of central North America, between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan south to New Mexico, Texas and Indiana. There are two varieties:Rosa arkansana var. arkansana Rosa arkansana var. suffulta (Greene) Cockerell

  • It belongs to the Rosaceae family. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS describes it as a subshrub with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 21 states. USDA PLANTS
  • NatureServe lists it as native to Kansas, South Dakota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Iowa. NatureServe
  • In Kansas, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in May–June. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 345 research-grade sightings of it in Kansas, ranking #74 among the 109 flowers on our Kansas list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 303 research-grade sightings of it in South Dakota, ranking #43 among the 108 flowers on our South Dakota list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 298 research-grade sightings of it in Nebraska, ranking #44 among the 108 flowers on our Nebraska list. iNaturalist

Prairie rose gift ideas

Handmade prairie rose gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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    Prairie rose art print

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    Prairie rose greeting card

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    Prairie rose mug

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    Prairie rose earrings

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    Prairie rose embroidery pattern

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    Prairie rose sticker

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (366 records)
Bloom time in each of our 5 states
StateTypePeak bloomSightings*
KansasNativeMay–June345
South DakotaNativefew records303
NebraskaNativeMay–July298
North DakotaNativeJune–July287
IowaNativeMay–July164

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)
Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
NatureServe global
G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
Kansas
No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: S5, secure in Kansas.
South Dakota
No list South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in South Dakota.
Nebraska
Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. 163 NAC 4-004
North Dakota
No list North Dakota has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's North Dakota ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in North Dakota.
Iowa
Not listed Not on Iowa endangered, threatened and special concern plants (Iowa Admin. Code r. 571-77.3). NatureServe: S5, secure in Iowa. IAC 571-77.3
Rare elsewhere
Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: OH (SX). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNon-toxic to dogs, cats and horses

ASPCA's entry “Rose” (Rosa Species), which covers the whole genus, lists it as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Eating lots of any plant can still upset a pet's stomach. ASPCA

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records prairie rose in 21 states plus Washington, D.C.

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming; District of Columbia.

Kansas counties with USDA records: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Greenwood, Hamilton, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Kearny, Kiowa, Labette, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Sumner, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.

South Dakota counties with USDA records: Aurora, Brookings, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington, Corson, Custer, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Fall River, Faulk, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Jackson, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lyman, Marshall, Meade, Mellette, Miner, Minnehaha, Pennington, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Stanley, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Union, Yankton, Ziebach.

Nebraska counties with USDA records: Adams, Antelope, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Cass, Cedar, Cherry, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Fillmore, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Jefferson, Kearney, Keya Paha, Knox, Lancaster, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Nance, Otoe, Pawnee, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Valley, Washington, Webster, York.

More Kansas flowers

Roses (genus Rosa) (Rosa)

Roses (genus Rosa)

Rosa

★ NY state flower🌷 Garden flower

🌼 Blooms in KS: May–June
Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)

Multiflora rose

Rosa multiflora

Introduced

🌼 Blooms: April–June
Mock strawberry (Potentilla indica)

Mock strawberry

Potentilla indica

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🌼 Few flowering records in KS

Sources