Cistus laurifolius

Cistus laurifolius, commonly called laurel-leaf cistus,[1] laurel-leaved cistus[2] or laurel-leaved rock rose, is a species of highly branched flowering evergreen shrub native to some areas around the Mediterranean.

Cistus laurifolius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Cistaceae
Genus:	Cistus
Species:	C. laurifolius
Binomial name
Cistus laurifolius L.

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.[3] It bears white flowers with a yellow spot in each petal, of 4.5–5 cm diameter[4] It is widely cultivated in gardens, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Cistus laurifolius has a disjunct natural distribution, in the Western Mediterranean area (Morocco, Portugal, Spain, southern France, Corsica and Tuscany), the Aegean and Anatolia.[4]

With the general warming of the atmosphere and the consequent withdrawal of the 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.[6][7][8] The distribution of some surviving species, such as Cistus laurifolius, moved to wetter areas such as the mountains.[8] Due to this, C. laurifolius is named in Spanish in its distribution area as "mountain rockrose",[8] although in the coastal west and northwest Iberian Peninsula, it is found at sea level.[9]

Cistus shrubland, including C. laurifolius, survives fire and has seeds that germinate after fire.[10]

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.[11][12][13][14]

Gallery

Different vegetative and reproductive stages of Cistus laurifolius

• 
  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.[15]
• Cistus laurifolius var. lanceolatus Rouy & Foucaud
• Cistus laurifolius var. laurifolius
• Cistus laurifolius var. ovatus Rouy & Foucaud

References

1. "Cistus laurifolius". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
2. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
3. Filippi, Olivier (2007). Pour un jardin sans arrosage (For a garden without irrigation). Arles: Actes Sud. p. 207. ISBN 978-2-7427-6730-4.
4. Flora Iberica 3: 331
5. http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=430
6. John W. Harshberger (1926). "Mediterranean Garigue and Macchia (first page)". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 65 (1): 56–63. JSTOR 984338.
7. Fernández-Mazuecos, M.; Vargas, P. (2010). "Ecological rather than geographical isolation dominates Quaternary formation of Mediterranean Cistus species". Molecular Ecology. 19 (7): 1381–1395. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04549.x. PMID 20196815.
8. Beatriz Guzmán; Pablo Vargas (2005). "Systematics, character evolution, and biogeography of Cistus L. (Cistaceae) based on ITS, trnL-trnF, and matK sequences" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 37 (3): 644–660. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.026. PMID 16055353.
9. Antonio Rigueiro Rodríguez; Fco. Javier Silva-Pando. "Aportaciones A La Flora De Galicia, I." (PDF). Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid. 40 (2): 385–395.
10. R. Tárrega; E. Luis-Calabuig; I. Alonso (1997). "Space-time heterogeneity in the recovery after experimental burning and cutting in a Cistus laurifolius shrubland". Plant Ecology. 129 (2): 179–187. doi:10.1023/A:1009728317705. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
11. Guzmán, B. & Vargas, P. (2005). "Systematics, character evolution, and biogeography of Cistus L. (Cistaceae) based on ITS, trnL-trnF, and matK sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 37 (3): 644–660. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.026. PMID 16055353.
12. Guzmán, B. & Vargas, P. (2009). "Historical biogeography and character evolution of Cistaceae (Malvales) based on analysis of plastid rbcL and trnL-trnF sequences". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 9 (2): 83–99. doi:10.1016/j.ode.2009.01.001.
13. Guzman, B.; Lledo, M.D. & Vargas, P. (2009). "Adaptive Radiation in Mediterranean Cistus (Cistaceae)". PLOS ONE. 4 (7): e6362. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.6362G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006362. PMC 2719431. PMID 19668338.
14. Civeyrel, Laure; Leclercq, Julie; Demoly, Jean-Pierre; Agnan, Yannick; Quèbre, Nicolas; Pélissier, Céline & Otto, Thierry (2011). "Molecular systematics, character evolution, and pollen morphology of Cistus and Halimium (Cistaceae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 295 (1–4): 23–54. doi:10.1007/s00606-011-0458-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
15. "Tropicos.org".