Damask rose (Rosa 9 damascena Herrm.) is the most important scented rose species, which some of its varieties are great importance for rose oil production. In the present survey, a total of 327 accessions of wild Damask rose from 21 geographically distinct regions of Iran were collected and transplanted in a protected conservation garden. After 2 years of plants establishment, phenotypic variation of accessions were evaluated using 36 morphological traits. High level of phenotypic variations was detected among the accessions especially desirable variations for commercial characters such as petal color, number of petals, and fragrance. The highest variability corresponded to petal number, leaf color, leaf stipule, and prickle shape. Flowering date varied from 08 May to 03 June. The petal number ranged between 17 and 159. The highest values for flower weight and petal weight were 5.67 and 4.61 g, respectively. Leaflet length ranged from 20.09 to 60.73 mm, while leaf width varied from 15.26 to 44.75 mm. Regression analysis indicated the importance of petal color, flowering date, and leaflet width/length in influencing floral scent. Dispersion diagram based on the first two principal components (40.86% of total variance) showed that the studied accessions were distributed into the plot. Some of the superior accessions were separated from others in scatter plot and characterized by the highest value of flower weight, petal weight, and petal number. In conclusion, the genotype collected will be useful for ex situ conservation and utilization in breeding programs of Damask rose.
