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Cistus symphytifolius Lam.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Cistus symphytifolius' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cistus/cistus-symphytifolius/). Accessed 2024-04-16.

Genus

Synonyms

  • C. vaginatus Ait.
  • Rhodocistus berthelotianus Spach

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.
undulate
Wavy.
variety
(var.) Taxonomic rank (varietas) grouping variants of a species with relatively minor differentiation in a few characters but occurring as recognisable populations. Often loosely used for rare minor variants more usefully ranked as forms.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Cistus symphytifolius' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cistus/cistus-symphytifolius/). Accessed 2024-04-16.

A shrub of rather open, straggling habit, 2 to 6 ft high according to situation; young stems sparsely clad with long hairs. Leaves oblong to oblong-elliptic, 13⁄5 to 4 in. long, 3⁄5 to 23⁄5 in. wide, pointed at the apex, tapered at the base into a short stalk; dark green above, with scattered hairs, somewhat tomentose beneath; margins plane or undulate. Flowers purplish pink, to 2 in. or a little more across, two to nine together in hairy panicles; sepals five, hairy, especially near the base; style to 1 in. long and always much longer than the stamens.

Native of the Canary Islands, mostly confined to the mountains above 1,500 ft; introduced early in the nineteenth century but, owing to its tenderness, uncommon in gardens. Some of the plants that are grown, or have been grown, as typical C. symphytifolius may belong to the following variety:

C osbeckiifolius (Webb) Christ

Synonyms
Rhodocistus osbeckiifolius Webb
C. ochreatus of some authors, not Chr. Smith

Also a native of the Canary Islands, this species differs from the preceding in its thicker, smaller, and strongly three-nerved leaves. They are densely downy on both surfaces, with silky-haired petioles.

var. leucophyllus (Spach) Danserau

Synonyms
Rhodocistus berthelotianus var. leucophyllus Spach
C. candidissimus Dun.
C. ochreatus Chr. Smith

Stems and leaves densely white-hairy.

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