CISTUS CRETICUS subsp. CRETICUS

Family:- CISTACEAE

Common Name:- Cretan Rock-rose, Grey Cistus, Grey Rock-rose.

Synonyms:- Cistus corsicus, Cistus incanus, Cistus villosus.

Meaning:- Cistus (Gr) Capsule.

Creticus (L) From Crete, Cretan.

General description:- An erect or spreading shrub to 1m, though often less.

Stems:-

1) Up to 100 cm, erect or spreading; young stems clothed in reddish glandular or

eglandular hairs, often sticky.

Leaves:-

1) Opposite, 15-25 x 8-15 mm, ovate, obovate or elliptical, often distinctly

with the veins impressed above and prominent beneath.

2) Petioles, 3-15 mm.

Flowers:-

1) Cymes, 1- to 7-flowered, more or less symmetrical.

2) Sepals 5, ovate-lanceolate, long-acuminate, with stellate and long, simple hairs.

3) Flowers 4-6 cm. diam, purplish-pink.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, loculicidal, with 5, 6 or 10 valves.

2) Seeds with a more or less curved embryo; endosperm present.

Habitat:- Common constituent of dry open shrubby vegetation, rocky places, dry

hillslopes and woodland margins. 0-700(-1100) m. often dominant

Distribution:- Throughout Greece, but less common in the interior north. - C & E

Mediterranean region. Widespread and common on Crete.

Flowering time:- Late Mar to June.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton