Cistus crispus
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Cistus crispus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Genus
Infraspecifics
Other taxa in genus
- Cistus albidus
- Cistus clusii
- Cistus × corbariensis
- Cistus creticus
- Cistus × cyprius
- Cistus × florentinus
- Cistus hirsutus
- Cistus ladanifer
- Cistus laurifolius
- Cistus × laxus
- Cistus × lusitanicus
- Cistus monspeliensis
- Cistus × obtusifolius
- Cistus palhinhae
- Cistus parviflorus
- Cistus populifolius
- Cistus × purpureus
- Cistus rosmarinifolius
- Cistus salviifolius
- Cistus 'Silver Pink'
- Cistus symphytifolius
A compact, bushy shrub 2 ft high, much-branched; young shoots clothed with long white hairs. Leaves sessile, lance-shaped to narrowly oblong or ovate or oval, 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 in. long, 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in. wide, pointed, three-nerved at the base, margins (especially of the lower leaves) much undulated; both surfaces rough through the deeply impressed veins, and densely coated with starry down. Flowers purplish red, about 11⁄2 in. diameter, crowded in a terminal head, supplemented by smaller ones on short axillary branches; each flower is on a very hairy stalk, so short that it is almost hidden in the bracts; sepals five, ovate or lance-shaped, long-pointed, hairy. Bot. Mag., t. 9306.
Native of S.W. Europe and N. Africa; said to have been introduced to England in 1656. It is one of the comparatively hardy species, and will survive moderately cold winters. Its short-stalked, richer red flowers, narrow, long-pointed sepals, and wavy-margined leaves distinguish it from the nearest ally, C. albidus.