The splendid Rosa soulieana is a robust shrub from western China, which can grow to 3m in height and width, and new growth can reach 3m in length in a single year. The stems are armed with irregularly placed, pale spines, and are clothed in small, grey-green foliage, with each leaf comprising seven to nine finely toothed leaflets. The single flowers are held in corymbs, and are initially pale yellow in colour, fading to white with age. In autumn it produces  orange fruits to 1.5cm in diameter. This species is named in honour of the French missionary Père Jean André Soulié, who introduced it into western gardens via the French nursery Vilmorin in the mid 1890’s.