The Red Rose of Lancaster was the heraldic badge adopted by the royal House of Lancaster in the 14th century. In modern times it symbolises the county of Lancashire. The exact species or cultivar which it represents is thought to be Rosa gallica officinalis.
Rosa gallica var. officinalis
A cobblestone mosaic showing the Red Rose of Lancaster in Williamson Park, Lancaster
Arms of the Anglo-Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania), including the Red Rose of Lancaster
The rose is a common device in heraldry. It is often used both as a charge on a coat of arms and by itself as an heraldic badge. The heraldic rose has a stylized form consisting of five symmetrical lobes, five barbs, and a circular seed. The rose is one of the most common plant symbols in heraldry, together with the lily, which also has a stylistic representation in the fleur-de-lis.
Heraldic rose as keystone on the vault of a sacristy in Landshut
Canting arms of the House of Rosenberg as they appear on the gate of Vyšší Brod Monastery