Romania has accepted the dog rose flower as its national floral emblem. It is believed that in the 18th century an extract of the flower was used to treat the bites of the dogs infected with rabies, and thus, the flower received its name. These pale pink flowers are found to symbolize pleasure and pain.

Grown abundantly all over Romania, the attractive flowers are popularly found to adorn gardens, are used for landscaping as well as for decoration purposes in different ceremonies in Romania.

But apart from its aesthetic uses, the Romanians regard this plant more for its medicinal values. The plant is well known for its anti oxidant properties. The high quantity of Vitamin C obtained from the fruit, which is also known as ‘hip’, is used for making syrups, tea and marmalade. The hips also act as a flavouring agent for soft drinks. During the World War II the plant was cultivated in private gardens for the production of Vitamin C in order to cultivate the foodstuff and in order to fight scarcity of available food. It is said that the dried form of the flowers, when smoked with tobacco, gives a hallucinogenic effect. These days, Romanians widely use the dog rose flower for land reclamation because it acts as a nurse or a cover crop and helps in the stabilization of the land.