Magazine  (Jul 1932)  Page(s) 311.  
 
"Notes on the Ligneous Plants Described by Lévaillé from Eastern Asia" by Alfred Rehder
Rosa multiflora var. cathayensis Rehder & Wilson in Sargent, Pl. Wilson. II. 304 (1915).
Rosa macrophylla var. hypoleuca Léveillé, Fl. Kouy-Tchéou, 354 (1915), nomen.
CHINA. Kweichou: Gan-chouen, commune, J. Cavalerie, no. 3953, "fl. blanches" (holotype of R. macrophylla var. hypoleuca; photo. in A. A.).
The flowers are white according to the collector and borne in few-flowered corymbs; the leaflets are rather small and densely grayish pubescent beneath, but not whitish as the name seems to imply. Another specimen collected by Bodinier in 1888 on the "Pehoó chan" and named R. macrophylla var. hypoleuca in Léveillé's herbarium but not in his handwriting belongs to R. Sweginzowii Koehne or a related species.

Magazine  (Jul 1932)  Page(s) 313.  
 
"Notes on the Ligneous Plants Described by Lévaillé from Eastern Asia" by Alfred Rehder
Rosa Gentiliana Léveillé & Vaniot in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, LV. 55 (1908).—Willmott, Gen. Rosa, II. 513, t. (1914).—Rehder & Wilson in Sargent, Pl. Wilson. II. 312 (1915).—Léveillé in Mem. Acad. Ci. Art. Barcelona, ser. 3, XII. no. 22, p. 20 (Cat. Pl. Kiang-Sou); Cat. Ill. Seu-Tchouen, 164, t. 59 (1918).
CHINA. Kiangsu: without precise locality, Ch. d'Argy [1846-66]; (holotype; fragments in A. A.).
The two illustrations cited above are obviously based on the same specimen which is apparently the type, but does not seem to be in Lévaillé's herbarium now.
I have seen no material of this species except some fragments sent by Léveillé in 1915 to the Arnold Arboretum*. The species is widely distributed in eastern and Central China, but the peculiar shape of the leaflets stressed by Léveillé represents apparently an aberrant form not constant for the species.

*The type specimen of this species, of R. Rubus, R. adenoclada and possibly of some other species are not now in the Herbarium Léveillé; they were loaned to Miss Willmott when she was preparing her work THE GENUS ROSA and probably became separated from Léveillé's collection.

Website/Catalog  (1929)  Page(s) 70.  
 
Rose Species
Rosa Gentiliana, Leveille. (Central China.) A semi-climbing shrub with clusters of small, white, fragrant flowers. Questionably hardy.

Magazine  (17 Jan 1925)  Page(s) 35.  
 
Some Roses for the Wild Garden by E. H. Wilson.
Rosa Multiflora Cathayensis.
With its pink blossoms and bright yellow anthers this is one of the prettiest of wild roses and, moreover, one of the most interesting. It is a common rose in China, favouring sandy and rocky places beside streams up to altitudes of 6,000 feet. In habit it is variable, for the stems may be protrate or erect, but it is best as a bush from 5 feet to 8 feet tall. On rocks it generally forms a dense mass with arching stems. The flowers are produced in erect flattened clusters, which, standing well above the foliage, garland the whole plant in pink of the purest hue.
This rose is the wild parent of the Polyantha rose, the old "Seven Sisters Rose" and of the famous rose "Crimson Rambler" which have been cultivated in China probably for centuries and long before they were known in Western gardens. Of perfect hardiness, this wild form is more lovely than many of the modern rambler roses raised and grown in the West and is worthy of a place in gardens where beauty in simple flowers is appreciated.
Forms of this rose with double flowers were introduced into England as long ago as 1804, but the wilding itself was apparently quite unknown in Western gardens prior to 1907, when I sent seeds to the Arnold Arboretum.

Magazine  (1922)  Page(s) 260.  
 
Rosa gentiliana Lév. et Van.

Magazine  (1922)  Page(s) 35.  
 
46789. Rosa gentiliana Lev. and Van. Rosaceae. Rose.
From England. Presented by Sir David Prain, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Received December 3, 1918.
"A plant grown from a cutting supplied by Sir William Thiselton-Dyer." (Prain.)
A rose which is abundant in the mountaineous regions of western Hupeh and eastern Szechwan, where it forms tangled masses 6 meters or more in height. The numerous large white flowers are very fragrant, and the anthers are golden yellow. The species is easily distinguished by its glabrous, pale-gray shoots and the 3 to 5 foliolate leaves, which are shining green above and very pallid beneath. (Adapted from Sargent, Plantae Wilsonianae, vol. 2, p. 312.)
Received as Rosa cerasocarpa Rolfe, which is referred to R. gentiliana in Plantae Wilsonianae.

Book  (1920)  Page(s) 29--30.  
 
Gentes Herbarium. I. A Collection of Plants in China pp. 29-30 1920
L. H. Bailey
†R. cathayensis, n. st. (R. multiflora, Thunb., var. cathayensis, Rehd. & Wils. in Sergent, Pl. Wilson. ii, 304). A. R. multiflora differt foliolis plerisque majoribus et magis acuminatis (vel saltem non obtusis), saepius quam in illa specie 2-jugis, floribus pauciori.. bus et majoribus 3-5 cm. diam. corymbosis potius quam paniculatis roseis, pedicellis longioribus et saepe glandulosissimis.
 
Shanghai cult. Kuling. Chi-kung-shan(4). common wild plant in the Chi-kung-shan country: fls. rose-color or rose-pink, 1 1/2  to 2 in. across; bush sometimes erect, sometimes weak and prostrate, apparently a smaller and weaker plant, as a rule, than R. multiflora. By this separation, the pink-flowered plant of China becomes a distinct species from the Japanese white-flowered smaller-leaved fragrant very floriferous rose, and this disposition, if accepted, will change the nomenclature of some of the cultivated roses. Whether the lines of separation between the two are always clearly marked. I do not know; but being familiar with the usual white-flowered Rosa multiflora (the Rosa polyantha of horticulturists) I was struck with the unlikeness al the Chinese plant when I found it in the wild. R. multiflora itself is in cultivation at Shanghai, in characteristic form. I am convinced that the separation, so well begun by Rehder and Wilson, is necessary to an understanding of these two roses. The Chinese plant is prevailingly distinguished by the larger and more acuminate-pointed leaflets, the larger and colored flowers which are in few-flowered more open clusters. R. multiflora is typically characterized by its many small flowers in a long duster or panicle.

†R. cathayensis var. exigua, var. nov. Frutex humilis, tenuis; foliola parva et angusta, 3-4 cm. longs et 1-1.5 cm. lata; stipulae valde pectinatae.—Chi-kung-shan, and perhaps also a poor specimen from Kiu-kiang, Prov. Kiangsi.

Booklet  (1918)  Page(s) 164, t. 58.  Includes photo(s).
 
Rosa Gentiliana Lèvl et Vant in Bull. Soc. bot. Fr.55/1908

Book  (1917)  Page(s) 92.  
 
43894. Rosa gentiliana Lev and Van. A shrub with long runners, growing up to 2 feet in height, with scattered hooked thorns. The leaves are composed of five glabrous serrate leaflets, and the white, fragrant flowers are up to 1½ inches wide and occur in corymbs. The fruits are globose and dark red. The rose is a native of central China.

Magazine  (Dec 1916)  Page(s) t. 8688.  
 
Rosa cerasocarpa Rolfe .....Rehder and Wilson (Pl. Wils. vol. ii, p. 312) have treated R. cerasocarpa itself as a form of R. Gentiliana, Lev. and Vaniot. But the Rose now described differs from the original specimen of R. Gentiliana, figured by Miss Willmott in her monograph of the genus Rosa; in our plant the leaflets are longer, more acuminate, and of a firmer texture; the stipules are narrower and less fimbriate; the pedicels are more densely glandular.