Abstract
Rose belongs to the great family Rosaceae. The genus Rosa L. belongs to the economically important family Rosaceae. In Saudi Arabia, there are some species belong to Rosa L., one of which is Rosa damascena Mill. Rosa damascena is one of the hybrid species that has been for long time considered as an original species. The most popular cities in growing roses in Saudi Arabia are Taif and Almadinah. According to local people, Taif rose is mainly used for oil and water extraction but Almadinah rose is mainly used for ornamentation and drinking with tea.
In addition, the rose of Almadinah city is harvested throughout the year, but less in the winter. Whereas, Taif rose is harvested in a certain period in the spring between March and April. This study aimed to investigate if both Roses are derived from one original plant and to find some genetically related information using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) and simple sequence repeats (SSR). The nine ISSR and the three SSR loci used in the current study, which are very simple, fast and cost effective, have been successfully discriminated between both Taif and Almadinah Rose.