The Burnet Rose (Rosa Spinosissima) is a dense native deciduous hedge that grows in small bushes up to 1m high, with rich green foliage. It produces dense thickets of slender erect stems, crowded in reddish spines and clothed with small neat fern-like foliage, along with small, pinnate leaves. The young stems, spines and mature leaves tend to be very red-bright scarlet with young growth, and then a deep maroon towards older growth. During May and June, the small, single white to creamy flowers are borne in profusion, occasionally with a pink blush. The flowers are sweetly scented with dark yellow stamens. Followed in autumn, the hedge is heavily laden with shiny purple-black hips (fruit).