''Cistus grancanariae'' is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Cistaceae The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that are ...

. It was described for the first time in 2008. It is endemic to a small area in the north of the island of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

Description

''Cistus grancanariae'' is a

, usually high, densely branched, with grey-green leaves clustered towards the end of the branches. The oppositely arranged leaves are around long by wide, with three (or occasionally up to five) very obvious main veins. The upper sides of the leaves are covered with short stellate (star-shaped) hairs and long simple hairs, some glandular. The undersides of the leaves are whitish and more densely covered with hairs. The flowers are arranged in

cymes An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...

, with 3–25 flowers to each

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

. Individual flowers are across. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are white, more-or-less rounded, about long and wide, with a wavy truncated apex and a short narrowed pale yellow tinged base. There are 35-70

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, longer than the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

, with filaments long. The

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

is very short, usually less than long. Fertilized flowers produce 7–20 blackish-brown seeds up to long.

Taxonomy

''Cistus grancanariae'' was first described in 2008 by Águedo Marrero, Rafael Almeida and Carlos Ríos. One of the group of white-flowered species of ''Cistus'', it was previously mistaken for ''

Cistus monspeliensis ''Cistus monspeliensis'' is a species of rockrose known by the common name Montpellier cistus. It is native to southern Europe and northern Africa, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecosystems of matorral—maquis shrublands. D ...

'', common in Gran Canaria. The leaves of the two species are different: ''C. monspeliensis'' has narrower leaves, more rolled under at the edges (more revolute), with upper surfaces that are green, sticky (viscous), and without stellate hairs.

Distribution and habitat

''Cistus grancanariae'' is only found in a small region in the north of the island of

in the Canary Islands, at elevations of , where it can form quite extensive stands. There are two main populations (Cabo Verde–Los Toscales and the Montaña de Guía) and three that are more fragmented. Plants are found in areas affected by human activity, such as deforestation, cultivation and grazing. The region is influenced by moist Atlantic winds, and has a Mediterranean-type climate, generally somewhat arid or with only seasonal rainfall, totalling a year.

Conservation

''Cistus grancanariae'' grows only in a limited area. Two of its locations are within protected areas, but these contain few individuals. Most of its range is unprotected and subject to human disturbance. In view of these factors, Marrero et al. consider that the species is eligible for vulnerable (VU) status under the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

criteria.

References

External links

*; includes distribution map *; includes photographs {{Taxonbar, from=Q15330085 grancanariae Plants described in 2008 Flora of the Canary Islands