The Arizona plants are very rare and restricted to the rims of the Grand Canyon, Kanab Canyon, and Marble Canyon. It differs most noticeably from the New Mexican and Texan plants by its very stout, dense prickles on the hypanthium. The taxonomic history of the New Mexico and Texas populations of Rosa stellata var. stellata is quite complex. Rosa stellata has one close relative, R. minutifolia Engelm., from southwestern California and northern Baja California (Cronquist et al. 1997). Rosa is an ancient Latin name, stellata means star-shaped in reference to the stellately-arranged pubescence, and abyssa means of the abyss or canyon.

Unknown.