CIS 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



C I S 



309 



which will bring up the plants very soon ; but these must 

 have plenty of air when they appear, otherwise they will 

 draw up very weak : when the plants are fit to remove, they 

 should be each planted into a separate small pot, and plunged 

 into a very moderate hot-bed, observing not to shade them 

 until they have taken fresh root, when they must have plenty 

 of air admitted to them every day in good weather, to pre- 

 vent them drawing up weak ; and they must be hardened by 

 degrees, so as to bear removing into the open air in the be- 

 ginning of June, after which they may be treated in the same 

 manner as is before directed for the other seedling plants. 

 By this method of bringing the plants forward in the spring, 

 they will grow to the height of two feet or more the first 

 summer, and have many lateral branches, so that they will 

 be strong enough to endure planting abroad in the succeed- 

 ing spring, and most of them will flower the same summer ; 

 whereas those which are sown in the full ground rarely 

 flower till the year after, nor will they be so strong, or able 

 to resist the cold of the second winter, as those which have 

 been thus brought forward. In the spring following these 

 plants may be turned out of the pots, with all the earth pre- 

 served to their roots, and planted in the places where they 

 are to remain, (for they are bad plants to remove when grown 

 old) observing to give them now and then a little water, until 

 they have taken fresh root, after which time they will require 

 no farther care, than to train them upright in the manner you 

 would wish them to grow ; but those plants which were at 

 first planted into a border in the open ground, should be 

 nrched over with hoops, and covered with mats in frosty wea- 

 ther, during the first winter, but may be transplanted abroad 

 in the following spring. In removing these plants, care 

 should be taken to preserve as much earth as possible about 

 their roots ; and if the season be hot and dry they must be 

 carefully watered and shaded until they have again struck 

 root, after which they will only require the treatment above 

 directed. If they be propagated by cuttings, they should 

 be planted in May or June, upon a bed of light earth, keep- 

 ing them shaded with mats, and frequently refreshed with 

 water untU they have taken root, which will be in about two 

 months' time ; they may then be transplanted into pots filled 

 with good fresh light earth, and should be set in a shady 

 place until they have again taken root, after which they may 

 be exposed to the open air till October, when th.ey should 

 be removed to pass the first winter under shelter, but in the 

 succeeding spring should be brought forth and planted 

 abroad, as lias been directed for the seedling plants. Most 

 of the perennial sorts of Dwarf Cistus or Sanjfawer, will 

 thrive in the open air in England ; they are propagated by 

 seeds, sown where they are intended to remain, and will re- 

 quire no care, except to keep them clear from weeds, and to 

 thin them where they are too close, always observing to leave 

 those sorts at a greater distance, the stalks of which trail on 

 the ground to the greatest length. These plants will con- 

 tinue several years in a poor dry soil ; but in rich ground, 

 or in moist situations, they seldom last long ; but as the 

 seeds ripen in plenty, they may be easily renewed. For the 

 annual sorts the seeds may be sown in April, upon a bed of 

 common earth ; the plants will come up in May, and flower 



in July. The species are, 



* Without Stipules, shrubby. 



1. Cistus Capensis ; Cape Cistus. Leaves ovate-lanceo- 

 late, petioled, three-nerved, toothletted, naked on both sides. 

 Branches round, purplish, having hairs thinly scattered over 

 them ; petioles distinct ; leaves three inches long ; corolla 

 yellow. Liuneus remarks, that this differs from the other 

 species in the toothlets of the leaves. Native of the Cape. 



2. Cistus Villosus ; Hairy Rock-Rose, or Shrtiiby Cistus. 

 Leaves ovate, petioled, rough with hairs. Corolla purple. It 

 has a strong woody stem, covered with a rough bark, and 

 three or four feet high, dividing into many branches, so as to 

 form a large bushy head. The flowers are produced at the 

 ends of the branches, four or five together ; the petals, which 

 are purple and large, .spread open like a rose, but are of short 

 duration, generally falling off on the same day they expand; 

 but there is a succession of fresh flowers every day for a 

 considerable time, in May and June, and again in September 

 and October, if the autumn be favourable ; and even in the 

 winter, if the plants be protected from frost. Native of Italy 

 and Spain. It requires the protection of a stove in winter. 



3. Cistus Populifolius; Poplar-leaved Cistus, or Rock-Rose. 

 Leaves cordate, even, acuminate, petioled. This has a stiff, 

 slender, woody stem, six or seven feet high, sending out 

 many branches the whole length ; branches and leaves 

 hairy ; leaves large, of a light green colour, with many nerves ; 

 corolla white, and soon dropping off. Linneus adds, that 

 the petals are tinged with purple on their edges ; that the 

 stamina are yellow ; and that the calices appear three-cor- 

 nered before they unfold. It flowers in June and July 

 Native of Portugal. This is a very handsome plant. 



4. Cistus Laurifolius ; Bay-leaved Gum Cistus. Leaves ob- 

 long-ovate, petioled, three-nerved, the upper surface smooth; 

 petioles connate at the base. It rises five or six feet high, 

 with a strong woody stem, sending out many erect hairy 

 branches ; leaves lanceolate, acute, thick, dark green above, 

 and white beneath, very glutinous in warm weather. Ac- 

 cording to Linneus, they are wrinkled, green on both sides, 

 and scarce visibly hairy : the petioles become purple at the 

 base. The flowers, which appear in June and July, are pro- 

 duced at the ends of the branches, upon long naked pedun- 

 cles, branching on their sides into smaller ones, each sustain- 

 ing one large white flower with a hairy calix. It is a beauti- 

 ful plant. Native of Spain. 



5. Cistus Ladaniferus ; Spanish Gum Cistus. Leaves 

 lanceolate, even on the upper surface; petioles united at the 

 base, and sheathing. Stem strong and woody, five or six feet 

 high, sending out many hairy branches ; leaves smooth on 

 their upper side, veined on their under, on short footstalks 

 which join at their base, where they form a sort of sheath to 

 their branch ; corolla white, the size of the officinal Poppy. 

 Native of the hills of Spain and Portugal. There is a variety 

 which Mr. Miller considers a distinct species : it has smooth 

 branches, covered with a reddish brown bark ; the leaves 

 are narrow-lanceolate, whitish on their under side, of a dark 

 green above, having three longitudinal veins ; the petals are 

 very large, roundish, white, with a large purple spot at their 

 base. The whole plant exudes a sweet glutinous substance 

 in warm weather, which has a very strong balsamic scent, 

 and perfumes the air to a great distance. It flowers from 

 June to August. There is another variety, with white flowers, 

 having no purple spots, which is in every other respect simi- 

 lar to this. They are all remarkable for their great beauty. 



6. Cistus Monspeliensis ; Montpellier Gum Cistus. Leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, sessile, villose on both sides, three-nerved. 

 Stem slender, from three to four feet high, sending out many 

 hairy branches, from the bottom upwards ; leaves very dark 

 green, in warm weather covered withaglutinous sweet-scent- 

 ed substance ; the peduncles, which come out at the branches, 

 are long, naked, and sustain many white flowers, rising abo\ e 

 each other ; their calices are bordered, and end in sharp 

 points. It flowers from June till August. Native of Xar- 

 bonne, and the kingdom of Valentia. The variety, or Olive- 

 leaved Rock- Hose, of Miller, has, according to him, the stem 



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