Vernacular names:
Labdanum, common gum cistus, and brown-eyed rockrose.
Family
Cistaceae
Height
Up to 2.5 metres
Habitat
Silicicola scrub areas. It forms large compact masses.
Altitude:
It prefers thermophilic zones, it rarely reaches the Meso-Mediterranean soil, up to 1,200 meters of altitude.
Distribution
Native to the Mediterranean basin, northwest distribution. It grows next to holm oaks in well-drained rocky soils, and in acid, non-calcareous and degraded soils.
Identification
Long branches with a tendency to verticality.
Lanceolate leaves, fro 5 to 10 cm long, narrow and opposite, grayish green in color and shiny on the upper side. Impregnated with laudanum: unctuous and highly aromatic oil.
Very large flowers (10-15 cm), abundant and short-lived. Corolla with five petals, each of which has a reddish-black spot. Calyx with only three sepals.
The fruit consists of a globose capsule with seven to ten cells inside.
Flowering
Between May and June.
Uses
The laudanum was taken in cough syrups, it is used as a liniment, diluted to 5-10% in alcohol and today it is used in perfumery as a fixative.
Threat category
It is included in the Red List of the Vascular Flora of Andalusia.
LC Category, Least Concern
