Cistus creticus
| Cistus creticus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Cistus creticus (common name: rock rose)
Propagation: Seed - gather when ripe and store dry[1]. Surface sow in late winter in a greenhouse[2]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 4 weeks at 20°c[2]. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle into individual pots. Grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out the in the following spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts[2]. The seed stores for at least 3 years[K].
Cuttings of softish to half-ripe wood, 8cm long with a heel or at a node, June/August in a frame. Roots are formed within 3 weeks[1]. High percentage[1].
Cuttings of almost mature wood, 8 - 12cm with a heel or at a node, September/October in a frame. High percentage[1]. Lift and pot up in the spring, plant out when a good root system has formed[1].
Layering in spring.
Cultivation: Requires a sunny position in a dry or moist well-drained light sandy soil[3][4]. Withstands drought once it is established[3][5]. Tolerates maritime exposure[6][K].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[5], but they require protection in severe winters[3]. Plants are somewhat hardier when grown in poor soils[4]. This is usually a short-lived plant in cultivation, it probably exhausts itself by its very free-flowering habit[K]. Plants often self-sow when growing in a suitable position[7].
Dislikes pruning or root disturbance[3][8]. Plants should be pot grown and then planted out in their final positions whilst still small.
Individual flowers only last one day but there is a long succession of them[3][8].
A polymorphic species, some forms do not yield much gum[3].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus.
This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[9][8].
The flowers are very attractive to bees[10]. The leaves, which exude a balsamic resin, are especially fragrant on warm sunny days[11].
Range: Europe - Mediterranean.
Habitat: Amongst scrub and in bushy places on rocks, dry hills etc to 1000 metres[12].
Edibility: The leaves are used as a tea substitute[13][12].
The oleo-resin obtained from the leaves and stems is used as a commercial food flavouring in baked goods, ice cream, chewing gum etc[14][15].
Medicinal: This plant is an aromatic, expectorant, stimulant herb that controls bleeding and has antibiotic effects[16][15]. It is used internally in the treatment of catarrh and diarrhoea[16][15] and as an emmenagogue[16]. The leaves are harvested in late spring and early summer and can be dried for later use, or the resin extracted from them[15].
Usage: The glandular hairs on the leaves yield the oleo-resin 'ladanum', used medicinally and in soaps, perfumery, fumigation etc[16][3][17][18][19][12][20]. This resin is an acceptable substitute for ambergris (which is obtained from the sperm whale) and so is important in perfume manufacture[15]. The resin is collected by dragging a type of rake through the plant, the resin adhering to the teeth of the rake, or by boiling the twigs and skimming off the resin[19][12]. Most resin is produced at the hottest time of the year[17]. There is a mauve-flowered variety of this species that is the most prolific producer of the resin[11].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: C. creticus. C. polymorphus. C. villosus creticus.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ RHS. The Garden Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society, 1987.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press, 1987.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Howes, Frank. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Chronica Botanica, 1949.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.