''Cistus salviifolius'', common names sage-leaved rock-rose, salvia cistus or Gallipoli rose, 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 ...

of 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 ...

Etymology

The genus name ''

Cistus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region ...

'' derives from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

words ''κίσθος'' (''kisthos'') meaning basket, while the species name ''salviifolius'' refers the wrinkled leaves similar to those of the sage.Acta Plantarum
/ref>

Description

''Cistus salviifolius'' has spreading stems covered by clumpy hairs. This bushy shrub reaches on average in height, with a maximum of . The oval-shaped green leaves are 1 to 4 centimeters long, opposite, reticulate, tomentose on both sides, with a short petiole (2–4 mm).Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982. Vol. II, pag. 122. The

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 ...

holds one or more round flowers, long-stalked, arranged at the leaf axils. The five white petals have a yellow spot at the base, forming a corolla 4–6 cm in diameter. 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 are also yellow and the anthers shed abundant yellow pollen. This plant is pollinated by insects (

entomophily Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...

), especially by bees. The flowering period extends from April through May. The fruit is a pentagonal capsule, 5–7 mm long.

Phylogeny

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

Gallery

File:Cistus salviifolius 5.JPG, Plants of ''Cistus salviifolius'' File:Cistaceae - Cistus salviifolius-1.JPG, Close-up on a flower of ''Cistus salviifolius'' File:Cistusfruits.jpg, Fruits of ''Cistus salviifolius'' File:Cistus salviifolius fruit Corse.jpg, Close-up on a fruit of ''Cistus salviifolius'' File:Cistaceae - Cistus salviifolius.JPG, Leaves of ''Cistus salviifolius''

Cultivation

''Cistus salviifolius'' cultivated in the nursery industry, and grown in gardens and public landscapes, often for its

drought-tolerant Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, deto ...

and pollinator habitat attributes.

Distribution

This showy wildflower is native to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

region, in southern Europe and parts of

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Habitat

This plant prefers dry hills,

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

and open woodlands, at an altitude of above sea level. It regrows very quickly following a fire.

Synonyms

Other synonyms reported by

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

include: *''Cistus apricus'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus arrigens'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus elegans'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus fruticans'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus humilis'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus microphyllus'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus platyphyllus'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus rhodanensis'' Timb.-Lagr. *''Cistus sideritis'' C.Presl *''Cistus velutinus'' Timb.-Lagr.

Chemistry

''Cistus salviifolius'' contains flavan-3ols,

oligomeric proanthocyanidin Condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins, polyflavonoid tannins, catechol-type tannins, pyrocatecollic type tannins, non-hydrolyzable tannins or flavolans) are polymers formed by the condensation of flavans. They do not contain sugar residues. They ...

s and

prodelphinidin Prodelphinidin is a name for the polymeric tannins composed of gallocatechin. It yields delphinidin during depolymerisation under oxidative conditions. Natural occurrences Prodelphinidins are one of the two sorts of tannins in grape (the other ...

s such as epigallocatechin-3-O-(4-hydroxybenzoate), epigallocatechin-(4β→8)-epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin -3-O-gallate-(4β→8)-epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin-(4β→6)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, 1-O-β-d -(6′-O-galloyl)-glucopyranosyl-3-methoxy-5-hydroxybenzene, epigallocatechin-(4β→8)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, 1-O-β-d- glucopyranosyl-3-methoxy-5-hydroxybenzene and rhododendrin (betuloside). It also contains ellagitannins of the

punicalagin Punicalagin is an ellagitannin, a type of phenolic compound. It is found as alpha and beta isomers in pomegranates (''Punica granatum''), ''Terminalia catappa'', ''Terminalia myriocarpa'', and in ''Combretum molle'', the velvet bushwillow, a plant ...

type.Simultaneous LC-DAD and LC-MS Determination of Ellagitannins, Flavonoid Glycosides, and Acyl-Glycosyl Flavonoids in Cistus salvifolius L. Leaves. E. Saracini, M. Tattini, M. L. Traversi, F. F. Vincieri and P. Pinelli, Chromatographia, Volume 62, Numbers 5-6, pages 245-249,

References

External links

* * *
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Cistus salviifolius''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q136801 Flora of France salviifolius Drought-tolerant plants Flora of Italy Flora of Lebanon Flora of Morocco Flora of North Africa Flora of Portugal Flora of Spain Flora of Western Asia Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Bulgaria Flora of the Mediterranean Basin