Wild eglantine

In the hymn "Bower of Prayer," the plant wild eglantine is mentioned. I have wondered for years what that was, so I finally looked it up.

These are hybrids of Rosa eglanteria, the old 'Sweet Brier' of Shakespeare. They share with the wild European parent handsome small foliage that is scented of green apples. On humid mornings the air around them is heavily perfumed, and when the passer-by brushes them or crushes their leaves, the scent appears. A crop of bright red hips in the fall provides a winter bonus. At the turn of the century Lord Penzance bred a number of fine hybrids, all in the classic mold of the wild Eglantine.