Cistus libanotis

Cistus libanotis is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae, with white flowers. It has been confused with Cistus clusii, which it resembles, resulting in some uncertainty in its distribution. Within Europe, it is native to south-west Portugal and south-west Spain.

Cistus libanotis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Cistaceae
Genus:	Cistus
Species:	C. libanotis
Binomial name
Cistus libanotis L.[1]
Synonyms[1]
Cistus bourgaeanus Coss.

Description

Cistus libanotis is a prostrate or less often erect shrub, up to 80–120 cm (2 ft 7 in–3 ft 11 in) tall. It leaves are dark green, long and thin in shape, usually 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) long by 2–5 mm (0.08–0.20 in) wide and with turned under (revolute) margins. The upper surfaces of the leaves have only a few stellate hairs, particularly on the margins and the nerves; the lower surfaces have a conspicuous nerve and two dense bands of short stellate hairs. The flowers are arranged in cymes or whorls, the top group forming an umbel of three or four flowers. Each flower has three striped reddish sepals, 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long by 4–5 mm (0.2–0.2 in) wide, and five white petals with a yellow spot at the base, 10–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long by 9–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) wide. The stamens are unequal in length, longer than the pistil. The style is short. The fruiting capsule is 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, with relatively large seeds up to 1.8 mm (0.07 in) in diameter.[2]

Taxonomy

Cistus libanotis was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759.[1] A different but similar species, Cistus clusii, has regularly been mis-identified as this species.[3] A 2011 molecular phylogenetic study placed C. libanotis in the white and whitish pink clade of Cistus species. No strong relationship with C. clusii was found.[4]

The specific epithet libanotis was the word used for rosemary by Pliny.[5]

Phylogeny

Cistus libanotis 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.[6][7][8][4]

Distribution and habitat

Cistus libanotis is native to south-west Portugal and south-west Spain.[3] Its range has also been said to include "Argelia" (Spanish for Algeria),[8] although this may refer to Cistus libanotis auct. non L.,[4] i.e. C. clusii. C. libanotis is typically found in dry, sandy areas of the Mediterranean coast, including Pinus halepensis and Quercus suber woodlands.[8]

References

1. "Cistus libanotis", The Plant List, retrieved 2015-03-02
2. Demoly, J.-P. & Montserrat, P. (1993), "Cistus" (PDF), in Castroviejo, S.; Aedo, C.; Cirujano, S.; Lainz, M.; Montserrat, P.; Morales, R.; Munoz Garmendia, F.; Navarro, C.; Paiva, J.; Soriano, C. & Fernandez Arias, M.I. (eds.), Flora Iberica: Plantas vasculares de la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares (in Spanish), 3, Madrid: Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, pp. 319–337, ISBN 978-84-00-07375-6, p. 334
3. Warburg, E.F. (1968). "Cistus". In Tutin, T.G.; Heywood, V.H.; Burges, N.A.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A. (eds.). Flora Europaea: Rosaceae to Umbelliferae. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 282–284. ISBN 978-0-521-06662-4.
4. 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)
5. "Definition of libanotis". JM Latin English Dictionary. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

External links

• Page, R.G., "Cistus libanotis L.", The Cistus & Halimium Website, archived from the original on 2015-03-19, retrieved 2015-03-19; includes photograph