Website/Catalog  (2019)  
 
Rosa balsamica Bess. (1815)...Shrub with arcuately curved branches, up to 1.5-2.0 m in height; thorns are large, sickle-curved, rarely almost straight. Leaves 6-7 cm in length; stipules of medium size, pubescent on both sides, only from below with admixture of a few small glands; 5 leaflets, less often 7, widely elliptical, often almost rounded, 20–25 mm long and 15–20 mm wide, pubescent on both sides, or just below, with an admixture of frequent but small glands. Flowers 2-3; pedicels 1-2 cm long, smooth or only with single glandular setae; sepals with well-developed appendages, sometimes pinnate, thickly covered with glands along the edge and below, bent down after flowering, often remaining on mature fruits; head stigma loose, pubescent. Hypanthias are rather large, oval or spherical, completely bare and smooth; nutlike fruit.
Distribution: North Caucasus, Central Europe, South Eastern Europe.

Website/Catalog  (2006)  Page(s) 41.