''Cistus ocreatus'' 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 ...

, with purple-pink flowers. It is sometimes treated as

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with '' Cistus symphytifolius'' or as its subspecies ''C. symphytifolius'' subsp. ''leucophyllus''. Its name is sometimes spelt ''Cistus ochreatus''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Description

''Cistus ocreatus'' has ovate leaves with three main veins and a short stalk ( petiole). The flowers are purple, with styles longer than the

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. It resembles '' Cistus symphytifolius'', but has smaller flowers, and its leaves have a whitish appearance due to a covering of fine hairs.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The name ''Cistus ocreatus'' originates from

Christen Smith Christen Smith (17 October 1785 – 22 September 1816) was an early 19th-century Norwegian physician, economist and naturalist, particularly botanist. He died, only 30 years old during a dramatic expedition to the Congo River in 1816, leaving a ...

, who collected plants in the Canary Islands. Smith died in 1816. In 1819 (i.e. after Smith's death), the name and description were published by

Christian Leopold von Buch Christian Leopold von Buch (26 April 1774 – 4 March 1853), usually cited as Leopold von Buch, was a German geologist and paleontologist born in Stolpe an der Oder (now a part of Angermünde, Brandenburg) and is remembered as one of the most im ...

, attributed to "Dr Smith's notes". Smith differentiated ''C. ocreatus'' from '' Cistus symphytifolius'' (which he called ''C. vaginatus''), noting that it had smaller flowers. The specific epithet ''ocreatus'' derives from the Latin noun ''ocrea'', "

greave A greave (from the Old French ''greve'' "shin, shin armour") or jambeau is a piece of armour that protects the leg. Description The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the tibia from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the skin ...

", plus the ending ''-atus'', "possessing or resembling". Although the noun may also be spelt ''ochrea'', the spelling ''ocreatus'' was used by Buch in publishing Smith's notes. An alternative name for the taxon derives ultimately from

Édouard Spach Édouard Spach (23 November 1801 – 18 May 1879) was a French botanist. The son of a merchant in Strasbourg, in 1824 he went to Paris, where he studied botany with René Desfontaines (1750–1831) and Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu (1748–1836). ...

, who in 1836 published a description of ''Rhodocistus berthelotianus'', including variety ''leucophyllus''. ''Rhodocistus berthelotianus'' was later synonymized with ''Cistus symphytifolius'', and Günther Kunkel transferred the variety as the subspecies ''C. symphytifolius'' subsp. ''leucophyllus''. Smith's name ''Cistus ocreatus'' is considered to be a synonym of ''C. symphytifolius'' or its subspecies ''leucophyllus'' by some sources; others accept it as an independent species. A 2011 molecular phylogenetic study placed ''C. ocreatus'' as a member of the purple and pink flowered clade (PPC) of ''Cistus'' species, along with some other Canary Island endemics (''

Cistus asper ''Cistus asper'' is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae with purple-pink flowers. It was first described in 2005 and is endemic to El Hierro in the Canary Islands. Phylogeny A 2011 molecular phylogenetic study placed '' ...

'', ''

Cistus chinamadensis ''Cistus chinamadensis'' is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae, with purple-pink flowers, first described in 1991. It is endemic to the Canary Islands, where three subspecies occur on three separate islands (Tenerife, La ...

'', ''

Cistus horrens ''Cistus horrens'' is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae, with purple to pink flowers. It is endemic to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. First described as a species in 2004, it was previously identified as '' Cistus ...

'', and '' Cistus symphytifolius'').

Distribution and habitat

''Cistus ocreatus'' is endemic to

, where it is found in pine forests at altitudes of , in a climate described as "subhumid" and "temperate-warm".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19596387 ocreatus Flora of the Canary Islands Plants described in 1819