Gum rockrose
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| Gum Rockrose | ||||||||||||||
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| Cistus ladanifer L. |
The Gum Rockrose (Cistus ladanifer) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae. It is a native of the western Mediterranean region. It is indigenous to Spain, Portugal and north-west Africa.
It is a shrub growing 1-2.5 m tall and wide. The leaves are evergreen, lanceolate, 3-10 cm long and 1-2 cm broad, dark green above and paler underneath. The flowers are 5-8 cm diameter, with 5 papery white petals, usually with a red to maroon spot at the base, surrounding the yellow stamens and pistils. The whole plant is covered with the sticky exudate of fragrant resin.
It is particularly well suited to the Continentalized Mediterranean climate, standing both long summer droughts and cold weather. It is an extremely invasive plant which has taken over much of former farmland and grasslands in the mountain regions of central Spain. In Spanish it is known as Jara pringosa meaning "sticky shrub".
[edit] Uses
It is a popular ornamental plant, grown for its strongly resin-scented foliage and conspicuous flowers. Its leaves yield a fragrant oleoresin known as labdanum, used in perfumes, especially as a fixative.
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