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Cistaceae
Gum Rockrose
Cistus ladanifer
Sacred devotion.
- Family
- Cistaceae
- Genus
- Cistus
- Native to
- Western Mediterranean, Portugal, Spain, Morocco
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- evergreen shrub
- Height
- 3-8 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, poor, acidic to neutral
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 8-10
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- The leaves exude a fragrant sticky resin called labdanum, which has been used in perfumery since ancient Egyptian times.
- Labdanum was historically collected by combing the beards of goats that had grazed among the bushes, picking up the resin on their hair.
- Each flower lasts only a single day, crumpling and falling by evening, but the bush produces new flowers daily for weeks.
- The resin is flammable and the plant is fire-adapted, resprouting vigorously after Mediterranean wildfires.
- Labdanum is still used today as a fixative in luxury perfumes, valued for its warm, ambery, leathery scent.
Color meanings
0
I shall die tomorrow
1
fleeting beauty