396 



CISTUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CISTUS. 



Dugmore, of Parkstone, Dorset, who 

 writes as follows : ' ' The Camphor 

 Tree flourishes here, and is now a fine 

 shrub about 10 feet high and quite 

 healthy, bearing handsome glossy 

 leaves. It has never been artificially 

 protected, though sheltered by adja- 

 cent shrubs, and it has been planted 

 quite 12 or 14 years. The soil is peat 

 with a sub-soil of gravel, the whole 

 well trenched and manured." There 

 is also a fine specimen at Leonards-lee, 

 near Horsham, and probably others in 

 the gardens of Devon and Cornwall. 



Cissus. See VITIS. 



CISTUS (Rock Rose). The Rock 

 Roses are amongst the most beautiful 

 of flowering shrubs, but in our country 

 it is only on the lightest and warmest 

 soils and on walls that they may be 

 trusted to survive our winters. Most 

 of the species have been at one time 

 or other in cultivation in this 

 country, but their value is greatly 

 lessened by the recurring severe win- 

 ters, which kill unprotected plants of 

 so many of the kinds. All the species 

 are Old World plants, most of them 

 being natives of South - Western 

 Europe ; some extend to North Africa 

 and Asia Minor, and one to the Canary 

 Islands. Many of them vary in colour, 

 and hybridise freely. In spite of the 

 fugacious character of the flowers, 

 their bright colours and the profusion 

 in which a succession is kept up for 

 a considerable time give the Cistus 

 a high place among garden shrubs. 

 They prefer a dry sandy soil, and, 

 although some grow freely enough in 

 almost any garden soil, they are much 

 more likely to suffer during winter in 

 rich ground. The positions best for 

 them are sunny banks on warm sandy 

 soil, and something may be done by 

 protection and frequently raising and 

 propagating the plant. There are 

 many natural hybrids, some confusion 

 of names, and many more names than 

 distinct plants. This, and the fact that 

 these sun-loving bushes from the 

 south are tender over a large area 

 of our islands makes us limit the 

 species named here to the more distinct 

 and hardier kinds. 



C. ALBIDUS (White Rock Rose). The 

 name of this is derived from the whitish 

 tomentum which clothes the leaves and 

 young shoots. It forms a compact bush 

 2 to 4 feet high ; the rose-coloured flowers 

 are about 2 inches across, and the style is 

 longer than the tuft of yellow stamens. 

 S. Europe. 



C. ALYSSOIDES. Compact and shrubby, 

 not more than 6 inches in height. The 

 foliage greyish-green, spangled with lovely 

 yellow blooms each about \ inch across, 

 and having a tiny brown blotch at the 

 base of each petal. The flowers are borne 

 in little clusters of four or five at the 

 extremities of the growths. 



C. BOURG^ANUS is a native of the Pine 

 woods of S. Spain and Portugal, where it 

 flowers in the month of April, grow r s a 

 foot in height, and has prostrate branches 

 covered with narrow dark green leaves. 

 The white flowers are about an inch across, 

 and it is a good plant for a sunny spot in 

 the rock garden. 



C. CRISPUS. This forms a compact 

 bush, i to 2 feet high, with tortuous 

 branches, the rose-coloured flowers nearly 

 i inch across. There are some hybrids 

 between this species and C. albidus which 

 are nearer the seed-bearing parent than 

 they are to C. albidus. 



C. CYPRIUS. This is a handsome bush 

 like the Gum Cistus, but the flowers appear 

 several together instead of solitary. It is 

 nearly hardy at least, in the south has 

 a glutinous exudation, and the flowers are 

 large with a dark spot at the base. It is 

 said to be a native of Cyprus, but doubt- 

 fully. 



C. FLORENTINUS (Florence Rock Rose). 

 A handsome bush, flowering freely and 

 of easy culture, and I find it hardy and 

 enduring on soils where other kinds 

 perish. It is evergreen and charming on 

 the tops of dry walls and banks, and for 

 the bold rock garden one could not desire 

 a prettier bush ; 2 to 3 feet high, bearing 

 myriads of white flowers throughout the 

 summer. 



C. GLAUCUS. A much-branched bush, 

 i to 2 feet in height, with red-brown bark ; 

 the upper surface of the leaves is dull 

 green, glossy, and glabrous, the lower 

 strongly veined and clothed with a hoary 

 down. The flowers are large, white with 

 a yellow blotch at the base of each petal, 

 and the very short style is much exceeded 

 by the stamens. S. Europe. 



C. HIRSUTUS (Hairy Rock Rose). A 

 shrub i to 3 feet high ; the young shoots 

 and flower-stalks are hairy, as are the 

 leaves on both surfaces ; the flowers 

 whitish, and the style is shorter than the 

 stamens. S.W. Europe. 



C. LADANIFERUS (Gum Cistus). One of 

 the best ; the leaves, smooth and glossy 

 above, clothed with a dense white wool 

 beneath. The large flowers are white, in 

 some forms with a large dark vinous-red 

 blotch towards the base of each petal; 

 in others without blotch. It also varies 

 in the size of the leaves, the extreme forms 

 having narrow, almost linear, leaves. This 

 seeds and naturalises itself freely on dry 

 banks in a wood of mine. 



C. LAURIFOLIUS (Bush Rock Rose). 

 The hardiest kind ; in some southern 



