Blue rose

A blue rose is a flower of the genus Rosa (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow, through use of artificial means such as dyes.

[citation needed] In a book entitled Kitāb al-Filāḥah[2] written by Andalusī agronomist Ibn al-'Awwām al-Ishbīlī[3] in Arabic in the 12th century, and translated into French by J. J. Clement as Le livre de l'agriculture,[4] there are references to azure blue roses that were known to the Orient.

However, the RNAi did not completely knock out the activity of DFR, so the resulting flower still made some of its natural color, and so was a red-tinged blue – a mauve or lavender.

Further deepening the blue colour would therefore require further modifications, by traditional breeding or further genetic engineering, to make the rose less acidic.

[5] As of 2008[update], the GM roses were being grown in test batches at the Martino Cassanova seed institution in South Hampshire, according to company spokesman Atsuhito Osaka.