Rosa,damascena, more commonly known as the Damask rose, or sometimes as the Rose of Castile. The flowers are renowned for their fine fragrance, and are commercially harvested for rose oil used in perfumery and to make rose water .The flower petals are also edible. They may be used to flavor food, as a garnish, as an herbal tea, and preserved in sugar as gulkand.



For centuries, the Damascus rose (Rosa damascena) has been considered a symbol of beauty and love. The fragrance of the rose has been captured and preserved in the form of rose water by a method that can be traced back to ancient times in the Middle East, and later to the Indian subcontinent. A Persian scientist, Avicenna, is credited with the invention of the process for extracting rose water from rose petals in the early 11th century.