Cistus

'') The leaves are evergreen, opposite, simple, usually slightly rough-surfaced, 2–8 cm long. In a few species (notably C. ladanifer), the leaves are coated with a highly aromatic resin called labdanum. They have showy 5-petaled flowers ranging from white to purple and dark pink, in a few species with a conspicuous dark red spot at the base of each petal. ==Taxonomy==

Phylogeny Cistus and Halimium form a cohesive and the most derived clade within Cistaceae. Molecular phylogenetic analyses conducted between 2005 and 2011 confirm that Cistus species divide into two well-defined clades, neither of which was fully resolved internally. The first clade consists of those with purple and pink flowers (the "purple pink clade" or PPC). The second clade consists of those with white flowers or, in the case of Cistus parviflorus, pale pink flowers (the "white or whitish pink clade" or WWPC).) • Cistus × akamantis Demoly • Cistus × banaresii Demoly • Cistus × candidus • Cistus × canescens Sweet • Cistus × cebennensis Aubin & J.Prudhomme • Cistus × cheiranthoides Lam. • Cistus × clausonii Font Quer & Maire • Cistus × conradiae Demoly • Cistus × cyprius Lam. (C. ladanifer × C. laurifolius) • Cistus × escartianus Demoly • Cistus × florentinus Lam. (C. monspeliensis × C. salviifolius) • Cistus × novus Rouy • Cistus × obtusifolius Sweet (C. inflatus × C. salviifolius) • Cistus × platysepalus Sweet (C. monspeliensis × C. inflatus) • Cistus × pourretii Rouy & Foucaud • Cistus × purpureus Lam. (C. ladanifer × C. creticus • Cistus × revolii • Cistus × sahucii • Cistus × santae (Sauvage) Demoly • Cistus × skanbergii Lojac. (C. parviflorus × C. monspeliensis) • Cistus × stenophyllus Link (C. ladanifer × C. monspeliensis) • Cistus × timbalii Demoly • Cistus × verguinii Coste (C. ladanifer × C. salviifolius) • Cistus × vinyalsii Sennen ==Ecology==

They are thermophilous plants, which require open, sunny places. This plant genus is peculiar in that it has developed a range of specific adaptations to resist summer drought and frequent disturbance events, such as fire and grazing. In addition, it can form both ectomycorrhizas and arbuscular mycorrhizas. More than 200 ectomycorrhiza-forming fungal species belonging to 40 genera have been reported so far to be associated with Cistus. Cistus plants are therefore considered pyrophytes, or plants which rely upon fire as a part of their life cycle to encourage spread within their biome. Cistus seeds are resistant to the fires allowing them to germinate once fires have subsided and allowing them to benefit from an environment with less competition from other species. ==Cultivation==

Cistuses are suitable for sunny gardens with a nearly frost-free Mediterranean climate. The hardiest of the species is C. laurifolius, which survived the hard frost at Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in 1895 that eliminated all the cistuses save this and two white-flowered natural hybrids, C. × corbariensis, already grown by John Tradescant the Elder, and C. × loretii, a 19th-century introduction. • C. × argenteus 'Peggy Sammons' - pink flowers, grey-green leaves • C. × cyprius • C. × cyprius var. ellipticus 'Elma' • C. × dansereaui 'Decumbens' • C. × dansereaui 'Jenkyn Place' • C. × florentinus - white flowers • C. 'Gordon Cooper' • C. × hybridus - pink buds, white flowers • C. × laxus 'Snow White' • C. × lenis 'Grayswood Pink' • C. × obtusifolius 'Thrive' • 'C. 'Paladin' - large white flowers, dark green leaves • C. × pulverulentus 'Sunset' • C. × purpureus - pink petals with dark blotches near centre - small pink flowers • C. 'Snow Fire' • ×Halimiocistus 'Ingwersenii' • ×Halimiocistus sahucii {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/99428/x-Halimiocistus-sahucii/Details Gallery File:Cistus ladanifer hybride.JPG|Cistus × dansereaui File:Cistus-hybridus.jpg|Cistus × hybridus File:Cistus purpureus.jpg|Cistus × purpureus File:Cistus skanbergii + Cistus verguinii-Clapiers-4144~2015 05 03.JPG|Cistus × skanbergii (pale pink) and Cistus × verguinii (white and spotted) == References ==