Book  (1988)  Page(s) 37.  Includes photo(s).
 
R. helenae. Rehder & Wilson. A robust climber up to 6m or more, with hooked prickles. Leaflets 7-9, dark green above, greyish beneath, pubescent on the midrib and veins. Flowers 3-4cm across, well scented, in small corymbs, 6-15cm across. Pedicels glandular. Petals glabrous. Fruit ovoid 1 – 1.5cm long, orange red or scarlet. Native of Shaanxi, western Hubei near Yichang and Sichuan, in hedges and by streams, up to 1500m, flowering in June. Introduced by Wilson in 1900. Rather similar plants were found by Forrest in Yunnan. Distinguished by its large fruit.

Website/Catalog  (1982)  Page(s) 33.  
 
Rosa helenae  A very vigorous tree-climbing species with the lovely grey green leaves and corymbs of creamy white flowers. T.  Shade tolerant. (S) 20 x 10’.

Book  (1981)  Page(s) 101.  
 
A deciduous rambling shrub up to 20 ft high; young shoots armed with short hooked prickles, becoming purplish brown. Leaves 3 to 7 in. long; main-stalk slightly downy and armed with small hooked prickles. Leaflets mostly five to nine, commonly seven, ovate, ovate-oblong or occasionally elliptic or obovate, sharply pointed, finely simple-toothed, ¾ to 2½ in. long, 3/8 to 1¼ in. wide, glabrous and rich green above, greyish beneath and glabrous except for some down on the midrib and main veins. Flowers fragrant, white, about 1½ in. wide, produced during June in many-flowered flattish corymbs 4 to 6 in. wide. Flower-buds roundish. Pedicels up to about 1in. long, they and the receptacle densely glandular. Sepals awl-shaped, up to ½in. long, glandular on the back, with a few lateral appendages. Styles exserted, united into a downy column. Fruits ellipsoid, egg-shaped or pear-shaped, about ½ in. long, orange- red or scarlet.
Native of China, where it is widespread in the mountains from Shensi southwards through E. Szechwan and Hupeh and probably extends into the former Indochina. It was collected by Wilson in 1900, and earlier by Henry and others, but described from specimens sent by Wilson to the Arnold Arboretum in 1907 and introduced by him at the same time (W. 431 b from W. Hupeh and W .666 from E. Szechwan*).

[*Wilson’s seed-numbers 431c and 666a were R. rubus, so it is understandable that this species and R. helenae were at first confused in gardens, including Kew. The rose exhibited by Messrs Paul of Cheshunt in 1915, allegedly raised from W.666 and identified as R. floribunda by Rolfe was not R. floribunda Baker (i.e. R. helenae), but R. rubus. ]

According to Wilson it is very abundant in these regions, forming tangled masses often 20 ft high and as much through, and rambling over small trees in the margins of woods. It is a fine rose, producing great masses of flower and needs abundant space to show its full beauty. It is closely allied to the Himalayan R. brunonii and could be regarded as its main counterpart in China. It differs chiefly in the more glabrous leaflets, roundish flower-buds and more or less ellipsoid fruits. Also the inflorescence in R. brunonii tends to be more of a panicle than a corymb. The species is named after Helen, the wife of E. H. Wilson, who was killed in the accident in which he also lost his life on 15 October 1930.
Typically R. helenae is characterised by a roundish flower-bud, but there are plants in cultivation in which the buds are more tapered at the apex; in other respects they agree with R. helenae, but their provenance is unknown. Some of Forrest's collections in Yunnan differ from the typical state of R. helenae in their rounder fruits, but agree better with that species than with any other so far named.

Book  (1978)  Page(s) 151.  
 
R. filipes R. helenae  R. longicuspis P6   H5   ** 
These three  are easily confused, so if we look at them side by side we  may understand them better. All three are vigorous trailers; R. filipes and R. longicuspis are capable of growing shoots as long as three tall men in a summer; R. helenae is not quite so ambitious. Their natural way of growing is to form a tangled mound, from which the long shoots explore the surrounding jungle. Sooner or later a young shoot will grow fast upwards through  the mound, and its hooked thorns will catch in branches above. Then it is away into a tree, with the object of growing through the tree and flowering in the sun. The result is a remarkable floral display, and to achieve it the shoots will grow yards and yards. This habit teaches us that if we wish to train these roses through trees, we should copy nature by letting them form a mound first, instead of tying them to the tree trunk as soon as we plant them. Usually such sites are difficult; a rose suddenly transplanted to the foot of an elm, after a year of luxury in a nursery, finds problems in securing its food and moisture; it may need a few years, and plenty of water, before it is ready to ascend. Then one can help guide it into the tree. Don't plant it next to the tree trunk, but rather under some low branches. 
  All three have small creamy white flowers with prominent yellow stamens.  The clusters of flowers borne  by R. filipes and R. longicuspis  can  be  enormous. Presumably the plants are not always certain of reaching the light, and to insure 
against failure, they are able to bear over a hundred flowers in one great cluster. R. helenae also bears many blooms, but in more compact heads. They flower in summer only; R. helenae is likely to be the first of them to bloom......
  The young shoots grow so fast, that for quite a length at their ends the stems and the leaves show colours which may be immature, but are pleasant to see; sometimes they are almost red. And the final beauty of their year is hundreds of tiny hips, of which R. helenae is the most handsome bearer. 
  It is doubtful whether true stock of R. filipes exists in Britain, unless it is the vigorous rose called `Kiftsgate', after the Gloucestershire garden in which it was found to be notable. The name  of the species is from the word filipendula, which 
means hanging by a thread, and is an allusion to the thin flower stalks. R. helenae was named after the wife of E. H. Wilson, a famous plant seeker, and longicuspis' means having a long pointed end; I confess I am not certain which part of the plant it refers to, but the hips are so small that the term long is only true in relation to their size. 

Book  (1976)  Page(s) 85.  
 
Tess Allen. In my own lifetime gardens have become smaller and this trend seems likely to continue, therefore I predict the strong and enormous musk climber rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate' will have given way to Rosa helenae which can be grown as a rambling shrub and has the added advantage that the heps remain on until December.

Book  (1973)  Page(s) 57.  
 
Graham Thomas. Autumn Heps.
....R. helenae, whose fruits hang in close bunches.

Book  (1966)  Page(s) 45-46, plate 60.  Includes photo(s).
 
Rosa Helenae Shrub rose
A very vigorous wild rose from China which produces slender overhanging shoots, up to 9-12 ft long, with handsome glossy dark green leaves. The flowers are creamy-yellow at first, but become pure white when fully open; they are carried in medium-sized trusses and have an unusually fine, aromatic scent. The small attractive hips are orange-red. R. helenae may become frosted in a bad winter, but R. helenae hybrids of which there are several forms, such as Aksel Olsen's yellow-flowered variety, Lykkefund, are more hardy.

Book  (1955)  Page(s) 18.  
 
ROSA HELENAE from central China is an exceptionally beautiful , vigorous bush with shiny attractive foliage and clustering white flowers . Its hybrid - Helenae hybrida is even more beautiful and is , moreover , more hardy than the actual species.  In June it is a typical overhanging bush covered with charming yellow-white or pure white small flowers, and carrying, until far into the winter, equally many small tile-red hips. This description might also apply to Rosa multiflora where it not for a difference of growth. Helenae is more vigorous, more erectly pendant and retains its foliage longer into autumn. In Helenae the flowers carry an air of grace and pure white chastity to be found in no other wild rose. Moreover, it smells delightfully. It suffered but little damage from the frosts of 1940.

Website/Catalog  (1942)  Page(s) 24.  
 
Species Roses
R. Helenae—One-inch white blooms freely produced in trusses. A very hardy species of strong climbing growth. Eight to twelve feet... $1.00

Website/Catalog  (1929)  Page(s) 70.  
 
Rose Species
Rosa Helenæ, Rehder & Wilson. (Central China.) Handsome, fragrant white flowers 1½ inches across, borne in clusters during early summer, followed by red fruits. Almost climbing habit, with slender arching canes 15 feet or more long, armed with stout, hooked prickles.