Cistus × obtusifolius Sweet

An evergreen shrub of rounded, much-branched habit, 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 ft high; young shoots slender, covered with greyish starry down. Leaves almost or quite stalkless, oval or ovate-oblong, bluntish to rounded at the apex, tapered at the base; 1 to 2 in. long, 1⁄3 to 5⁄8 in. wide; dull grey green, starry-downy on both surfaces, more especially beneath, roughish above, margins slightly recurved. Flowers several in a cluster opening in June, white, about 11⁄2 in. in diameter, each petal having a yellow stain at the base. Sepals green, 3⁄8 in. long, heart-shaped, pointed, hairy and fringed with hairs; flower-stalks grey with hairs.

This rock rose, originally named and described by Sweet about 1827, is a natural hybrid between C. salviifolius and C. hirsutus and shows its ancestry in the heart-shaped sepals and more or less three-veined leaves. The stalked leaves with pinnate veins and often solitary flowers of C. salviifolius distinguish it, and C. hirsutus is easily distinguished by its markedly three-veined, broad-based leaves. It is found wild in Portugal and is one of the hardier rock roses, growing well and flowering well in a sunny well-drained spot. Easily increased by late summer cuttings.