Book  (1988)  Page(s) 84.  
 
p84 Nobody takes much notice of this little rose which is very commonly seen in the Western Cape countryside, especially along road boundaries in the Wellington, Drakenstein, Paarl and Stellenbosch areas. Perhaps it is too closely associated with the unwanted shoots that sprout and have to be removed from the rootstock of cultivated modern garden roses, for until quite recently ‘Indica Major’ was commonly used not only as hedging material but also as an understock by nurserymen here. It is a very thankful plant, thriving in almost any kind of soil, in sun or shade, and with little attention growing to luxurious heights against veranda poles or into the tops of old fruit trees. I have not seen it in areas prone to frost. ‘Indica Major’ is one of my favourite roses and I love to pick the dainty sprays of pale pink flowers when the buds appear in July, for no matter how cold or wintry the weather, the fragile silky flowers, earliest heralds of spring, will open one by one indoors to remind everyone that warm sunny days are at hand. I wake up in the night hearing the rain, and the faint sweet scent of the roses and their airy shadows against the wall fill me with contentment and happiness. ‘Indica Major’ is an old garden rose from China, where it is known as ‘Fun Jwan Lo’. European rosarians generally believe that it is descended from the tea-scented Rosa odorata that reached Europe in the early 19th century from Canton. It has the same delicate pink, porcelain petals and the same distinctive tea scent. There is, however, a variety of this rose in which the somewhat paler flowers are blotched with crimson, and a single form of this variety may be the original species from which ‘Indica Major’ is derived. A fine specimen of the single variety grows at the Swellendam Drostdy museum, but as none of us can remember collecting it, it is not impossible that it was planted as a slip of ‘Indica Major’ which has now reverted back to its single form. A painting of a half-open ‘Indica Major’ in Volume III of Redoute’s Les Roses (which he calls ‘Grand Indienne’) indicates that it was growing in France in the early 1800s. In American, where it used to be a popular rootstock, the rose was known as ‘Odorata’. (Note 1)

(Note 1) According to McFarland Roses 8 this rose was introduced to America as ‘Odorata 22449’, and used as stock, but he gives no date. See also the Rose Annual where ‘Indica Major’ is recommended as stock for countries with a Mediterranean climate and long summer droughts. Gisele de la Roche doubts whether Redoute’s ‘Grand Indienne’ is the same as the stock ‘Odorata’. I think they resemble each other very closely, but it is difficult to compare a painting with living material.

In the Cape ‘Indica Major’ used to be known as the ‘Jacob Cloete rose’ but it is not recorded whether the name refers to the Jacob Cloete who arrived at the cape in 1652 with the first settlers and who, five years later, became one of the first Cape farmers when he was granted land along the Liesbeek River. He and his wife Fytje Raderootjes had two daughters and two sons, progenitors of numerous Cloetes, today still spread throughout the country. Amongst these there have been many Jacobs, but I have been unable to establish which one is associated with the Chinese garden rose which was to become such a useful plant, giving much and asking for little in return.

p85. Caption for smaller pcture of a five-petalled rose: The species from which ‘Indica Major’ was probably derived.

p85. Plant. This loosely arching vigorous shrub or climber grows 3-5 metres high and has many sharp hooked thorns.
Foliage: Five oval pointed leaflets, about 30cm long, with dark-green shiny smooth surfaces, slightly paler underneath. The stalk is glandular, especially towards the stem, and has prickles on the underside. The stipules are very thin with longish loose ends, glandular on the slightly fringed edges.
Flowers: The oval buds have short sepals and open into full, loose flowers. The pale pink silky petals with white shanks bend back and roll outwards on the edges. Many hidden stamens surround a number of short white stigmas. The calyx is cup-shaped and smooth; the oval, short sepals are rough on top and velvety on the edges and under surface. The flowers come out in very early spring and are sweetly fragrant; the glandular flower stalk has short bracts at its base, also with glandular edges.
Inflorescence: usually only one flower appears on a short leafy branchlet along the main stems.

Book  (1986)  Page(s) 179.  
 
Understocks... chinensis 'Major' (R. indica m.)

Website/Catalog  (1986)  Page(s) 29.  
 

Odorata.....Cg.

Website/Catalog  (1985)  Page(s) 34.  
 

Odorata (China) (Hume’s Blush) A vigorous, old China rose which, in the past, was sometimes used as an understock.....

Website/Catalog  (1982)  Page(s) 28.  
 
Odorata (China)  A vigorous, old, China Rose which, in the past, was sometimes used as an understock. Globular, double flowers of white with pale pink flush. Very fragrant. Very old. (R) 6 x 4’.

Book  (1969)  Page(s) 49.  
 
Dr. A. S. Thomas. Rosa Indica Major
....Dr. Coggiatti has sent me an article written by J. A. Leemans ("Rootstocks for Roses", Boskoop, Holland, 1966) on R. chinensis major. The terms chinensis and indica became almost interchangeable and synonymous in plant nomenclature in earlier years before we took more care about such matters. He lists it as being called also, R. indica major, R. sylvatica, R. odorata ("as used by some authors, but wrongly so"), and R. niszr (in Egypt). He states that its introduction into Europe cannot be traced with certainty, that it is related to R. chinensis from eastern Asia, and that it is often confused with R. odorata (syn.: R. indica fragrans, Thory), which, however is different. "Modern Roses 6" does not mention R. chinensis major, or R. niszr and lists R. sylvatica as synonymous with R. gallica.

Magazine  (May 1966)  Page(s) 2. trimester, p. 20.  
 
Tableau Récapitulatif des différents Porte-Greffes
Rosa indica major; Origine: Chine; Multiplication: Bouture; Greffage: Œil poussant, œil dormant; Terrain: Tous; Température: Sensible au froid; Humidité: résiste à la récheresse; Vigueur: Faible car drageonne; Longevité: Forte; Resistance aux maladies: Bonne; Formes améliorées: - ; Races ou formes préferentielles: Toutes et Rose Thé et noisette; Lieu d'utilisation: Méditerranee

[see 'Manetti' for photo of whole table]

Magazine  (1952)  Page(s) 20.  
 
Rosa Niszr.
Ook dit jaar ontvingen we van de Directeur der Gemeenteplantsoenen te s'Gravenhage een aantal stekken van Rosa Niszr. De stekken, die op de Sortimentstuin gestoken zijn, zijn goed ageslagen. In Augustus werd hierop Rosa hybr. "Geheimrat Duisberg" en Rosa hybr. "Peace" geoculeerd.

Translation:
Also this year we received a number of cuttings of Rosa Niszr from the Director of the Church Gardens in Den Haag. The cuttings which were planted in the assortment garden have struck well. In August we grafted with these the hybrid rose 'Geheimrat Duisberg' and the hybrid rose 'Peace'.

Magazine  (Jun 1951)  Page(s) 2. trimester, p. 47.  
 
Il est bien connu que le porte-gtreffe idéal de notre région [Côte d'Azur] est le Rosa indica-major (Rosa odorata SWEET), arbuste à longs rameaux sarmienteux à épines fortes dispersées - Bois vert foncé - Feuillage persistant vert foncé brillant - Fleurs roses très doubles en mai ; non non remontant ; généralement stérile. Se multiplie par boutures. 

Magazine  (Jul 1950)  Page(s) 3. trimester, p. 74.  
 
[From the article "Les Portes-Greffes du Rosier" by André Leroy, pp. 68-74] 
M. JULIANO d'Antibes, signale qu'en culture forcée, Reine des Neiges réussit mieux sur Multlflore que sur Indica-Major. Dame Edith Hellen et Gloire de Rome acceptent bien au début le greffage sur Multiflore, mais elles boudent et deviennent en peu d'années, moins prospères que les sujets greffés sur Indica-Major. M. MEILLAND a observé que dans les régions sèches et chaudes du bassin méditerranéen, le greffage sur Multiflore ne donne pas de bons résultats dès les 2^e et 3^e années après le greffage.