Cistus laurifolius
# Cistus laurifolius

Cistus laurifolius, commonly called laurel-leaf cistus, laurel-leaved cistus or laurel-leaved rock rose, is a species of highly branched flowering evergreen shrub native to some areas around the Mediterranean.

## Description

It grows 0.8–2 m (2 ft 7 in – 6 ft 7 in) high. The branches are strong and erect, with reddish bark that is easily removed in strips. The leaves are larger than in the other species of Cistus, up to 9 cm (4 in) long, lanceolate, dark green, while the underside is whitish due to trichomes. The flowering occurs in late spring (May–June), later than most rockroses. It bears white flowers with a yellow spot at the base of each petal, of 4.5–5 cm diameter It is widely cultivated in gardens, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

## Distribution and habitat

Cistus laurifolius has a disjunct natural distribution throughout the Mediterranean Basin, being found west in Morocco, Iberia (Portugal, Spain), avoiding the wetter climate in the northwest, southern France, Corsica and Tuscany (Italy), and east in Greece and Anatolia.

With the general warming of the atmosphere and the consequent withdrawal of glacial ice, flora surviving from Tertiary times could not re-establish their range in southern Europe; the new post-glacial climate was drier than that of the Tertiary. The original tropical European flora evolved into the present Mediterranean sclerophyll flora. The distribution of some surviving species, such as Cistus laurifolius, shifted to wetter areas, such as the mountains. Due to this, C. laurifolius is named in Spanish in its distribution area as "mountain rockrose", although in the moister coastal west and northwest Iberian Peninsula, it is found at sea level.

Cistus shrubland, including C. laurifolius, resprouts after fire and has seeds that germinate after fires.

## Phylogeny

Cistus laurifolius belongs to the white and whitish pink flowered clade of Cistus species.

Species-level cladogram of Cistus species. :

| Halimium spp.    PPC     Cistus crispus       Cistus asper   Cistus chinamadensis   Cistus horrens   Cistus ocreatus   Cistus osbeckiifolius   Cistus palmensis   Cistus symphytifolius     Cistus heterophyllus     Cistus albidus   Cistus creticus   Halimium spp.   WWPC       Cistus clusii   Cistus munbyi     Cistus inflatus   Cistus ladanifer   Cistus laurifolius   Cistus libanotis   Cistus monspeliensis   Cistus parviflorus   Cistus populifolius   Cistus pouzolzii   Cistus salviifolius   Cistus sintenisii | Purple Pink Clade  White Whitish Pink Clade |
| - | - |

Species-level cladogram of Cistus species, based on plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. :

## Gallery

* Laurel-leaf cistus in its ecosystem.
* General view of the shrub.
* Young branches with the large leaves.
* The fruits are capsules, with dehiscence revealing seeds within.

## Subtaxa

* Cistus laurifolius var. atlanticus Pit.
* Cistus laurifolius var. lanceolatus Rouy & Foucaud
* Cistus laurifolius var. laurifolius
* Cistus laurifolius var. ovatus Rouy & Foucaud
