The Italian C... Rose

Discovery+Poetry

Italy; soft music over beautiful scenery.

A glass of wine fills the heart with amore.

It drives the pen in this unwritten story.

Man and woman smell the flowers here,

They're everywhere, even in the wine

They almost smell grapes in the ethanol

And carbon dioxide, enough to make

Them wonder how it's combined.

Off to the vineyard. Among the vines

You see rosebushes, but why? The truth.

Both rosebushes and grapevines

Are susceptible to powdery mildew.

A disease winemakers long knew.

It affects the roses at an earlier stage

Then it does the grapes, so they plant

Rosebushes to see it for the vine's sake.

But wait, winemakers noticed

Fewer parasites attacked the grapes

And the rose's pollen grew dramatically.

But wait, after careful study

The winemakers learned

The roses used the pollen to attract

The parasites and then fed on them all.

Who thought a rose could be a carnivore?

Like the Pitcher Plant or the Venus Flytrap,

Or my favorite, the Cobra Plant?

The Carnivorous Rose

An unknown species with huge benefits

For the vineyards and the people.

The Carnivorous Rose is a hero few know.

Nov 2, 2020

Author's Note

What made reading this worthwhile for you?

Reviews

[Titilayo Sarah Eguridu]

You captured the symbiotic relationship between the rose and the grapes.
This writing is poetic and scientific.
Could the role also be a metaphor for females and the grapes a metaphor for men?
Thoughts are circling in my head..
Awesome piece Cyprian.

[John the Baptist]

A very descriptive piece with a lot of good imagery here. Almost felt like having another glass of red after I read it. Informative, also; i would never have thought of a rose as a carnivore. Makes me want to be more alert next time I visit a florist.

[Coyote Poetry]

A wonderful poem shared. You taught me something too. La rosa carnivora. Is amazing. Thank you my friend for sharing the outstanding poetry. I did like this one.
Coyote

[Arundass TP]

wonderful creativity. describing plants. great pleasure to read like this one. one of my favorite poem. good work.

[Chris Shaw]

I just love this informative write. Nature is truly remarkable. Wine and roses were always well matched in my opinion and now it has been confirmed to be true. Well penned Cyprian.

Chris

[Lorry]

And once more, we get the briefest glimpse behind the petticoats of Mother Nature and can only applaud an intricacy of connections beyond our own minds intricacy of connections comprehension.
We always knew that wine and roses were the perfect accompaniment in gift giving and it just took us a bit longer to find a deeper accompaniment
I raise a glass to you for most excellent and informative words.

[Fran Marie]

a most informative
write roses protecting
grape vines with their
alluring pollen and
capacity to tharwt
the would be damage
and still come out
smelling like a rose
nice writeup

[Pete]

didn't know that. everything in nature is linked and has a purpose. creative how you told these interesting facts through italy working your way down. very clever. keep up the good vintage ... :)

[.]

Now you educated me on this topic.. I was completely unaware of the fact. Roses are so beautiful... But carnivorous... Aww. But here also they are doing their job...
Very plesed to read this one

[Lydia Shutter]

WOW....a rose as a parasite. You taught us a lot in this one, Cyprian. I know you wrote this literally, but metaphorically, those who are pretty as roses can also be parasites! Good write. Lydi**