Newsletter  (May 2015)  Page(s) 23-24.  Includes photo(s).
 
[From "Suckering Roses Revisited", by Darrell g.h. Schramm, pp. 23-27]
Moss roses, which are mutations of Centifolias, contain a few suckering roses in their family. ‘Communis’, the ‘Common Moss’ (pre-1700) will wander freely, while the Moss ‘Nuits de Young’ (1845) will explore in all directions but generally not farther than three feet from home.

Article (magazine)  (2006)  
 
... the first clear and indisputable reference to a moss rose is that of Boerhaave in 1720 ....who described a ‘Rosa rubra plena, spinosissima, pedunculo muscoso’, now known as Rosa x centifolia ‘muscosa’.
.....Chemical analysis of the scent of R. x centifolia ‘muscosa’ and R. x damascena ‘Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux’ revealed similar composition of VOCs in the petals and some slight differences in the sepals (Fig.). In petals of R. x centifolia ‘muscosa’, benzenoids (mostly 2-phenylethanol) made up nearly 60% of the volatile compounds, as in R. x damascena ‘Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux’. Other chemicals were geraniol, nerol, citronellol and their derivatives.
....Collectively, these results do not reveal any difference between the moss sports of these two different cultivars. The same repeat-program of trichome development seems to occur in R. x damascena ‘Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux’ and R. x centifolia ‘muscosa’ in full bloom.
...R. x centifolia ‘muscosa’ is a mossy sport derived from R. x centifolia. .... These trichomes have similar head-cells except that they are redder than those of R. x damascena cultivars. They have also the same VOC composition and quantities, except for higher level of fatty acid derivatives in R. x centifolia sepals. Compared to R. x damascena cultivars, pinene isomers and myrcene are less abundant......it seems that the mutations of R. x centifolia ‘muscosa’ and R. x damascena ‘Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux’ are really identical but that they appeared twice in different rose lines.....R. x centifolia and R. x damascena cultivars are both in the section Gallicanae and genetically related.....Thus, these cultivars could have preserved some traits of their common ancestor, R. gallica. Indeed, these species have the same kind of glandular trichomes on leaves and sepals and nearly the same VOCs in sepals.

Book  (2001)  Page(s) 35.  
 
Communis Moss, medium pink, very double, before 1867. Rated 8.3

Book  (2001)  Page(s) 301.  
 
Plant Introductions in the period 1700-1799
1724 Rosa x centifolia Moss Rose, Provence Rose. Garden origin. France

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 172.  Includes photo(s).
 
‘Communis’ /’Common Moss’ /’Mousseau Ancien’ /’Old Pink Moss’ /’Pink Moss’ = Mousseux. Pour certains, elle ne serait autre que ‘Centifolia Muscosa’. Il se peut que chacune des deux possèdent des clones variant légèrement à travers le monde, mais celui-ci semble réellement distinct et c’est l’un des meilleurs rosiers mousseux. Buisson dense à port droit, haut d’environ 1m20… tiges vert sombre et moussues… beau feuillage vert pré, irrégulièrement dentelé. En juin, ses boutons couverts de mousse... fleurs d’un somptueux rose intense, très doubles et souvent à quartiers autour d’un petit œil en bouton. Larges d’environ 8cm... parfum capiteux. France, avant 1700. Forme améliorée de ‘Centifolia Muscosa’. RHS Award of Garden Merit 1993.

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 152.  
 
‘Centifolia Muscosa’/Rosa x centifolia muscosa = Mousseux… buisson souple… feuillage rude, vert grisâtre… rameaux armés d’aiguillons rougeâtres…. fleurs parfumées d’un rose soutenu, plates et très doubles, parfois à quartiers, nées de boutons emmitoufflés d’une sorte de mousse formée de glandes très fines. Avant 1696.

Website/Catalog  (31 Dec 1998)  Page(s) 30.  Includes photo(s).

Book  (May 1998)  Page(s) 22-23.  Includes photo(s).
 
Rosa muscosa multiplex ('Double Moss Rose') Description... Differs from the single moss rose only by the fully double flowers, which are up to 8 cm diameter or more...

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 8, 156, 158.  Includes photo(s).
 
Page 8: [Photo]
Page 156: Moss. 17th century. Description and vital statistics. Mossed form of R. centifolia Identical in all respects except for the moss... Rather prone to mildew.
Page 158: Moss. ('Common Moss', 'Old Pink Moss', 'Communis') (France) pre-1700. Description and vital statistics. [The name may apply to several pink mosses, Beales explains.]

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 22.  
 
('Communis', 'Common Moss', 'Old Pink Moss') probably the original moss rose sport of centifolia and has been cultivated for at least three hundred years. It endures as the best and most cherished of the moss roses.