CISTACE/E 45 



Dry hills, pine woods, etc. Especially common near the sea. March- June. 

 After rain it scents the air with its resinous odour ; and Napoleon said he should 

 kno%v his native Corsica with his eyes shut from the scent of this plant. At its 

 roots and on those of C. salviagfolius the curious orange-red parasitic plant 

 Cytinus hypocistis is often found. These two species of Cistus with C. 

 albidus are typical maquis plants, and the 3 species are shown together in one 

 of the photos. Several varieties and hybrids of these are found in the Var. Be- 

 fore the end of February, 1913, blossoms of the 3 common species were seen by the 

 writer near Carqueiranne, but this is quite exceptional, the season being remark- 

 ably advanced. 



C. salviffifolius L. (Plate VI). Salvia-leaved Cistus. Shrub 1-3 ft. high, 

 slightly scented, green, covered with stellate hairs, but not viscous. Leaves 

 shortly petioled, oval or oblong, downy, rugose. Flowers white, with yellow 

 centre, larger and more cup-shaped than the last, 1-4 on long axillary peduncles. 

 Sepals 5, ovate-cordate, downy. Capsule pentagonal, truncate, rather downy, 

 shorter than the calyx, which is often reddish. 



Dry places, especially in the hills and extending to the lower mountains of 

 both Departments. April-June. 



C. ladaniferus L. Shrub often more than a yard high, very fragrant, with 

 viscous branches. Leaves sessile, lanceolate, green and glabrous above, whitish 

 with tomentum below. Flowers very large, 6-8 cm., white or spotted with purple, 

 peduncled, solitary. Sepals 3, suborbicular, glabrous, style very short. Capsule 

 subglobular, velvety, with 10 cells. 



Pine-woods and dry hills. April-May. Local. Frejus, and by the road from 

 there to the Esterel ; Le Muy, between Roquebrune and Bagnols. 



HELIANTHEMUM Gaertn. 



* Lower leaves usually without stipules. 



H. Tuberaria Mill. (Plate VI). Herb 9-12 in. high, silky below. Lower 

 leaves more or less in a rosette, ovate-lanceolate, silky, 3 nerved, without stipules, 

 upper leaves and calyx glabrous. No style. Flowers pale yellow, in a loose 

 raceme becoming unilateral. Capsule oval, downy. A beautiful plant. 



Woods and sandy hills. May-June. 



H. halimifolium Willd., with large yellow flowers blotched with violet at 

 base, grows on the sands near La Seyne. 



H. guttatum Mill. A slender, erect pubescent or hairy annual. Lower 

 leaves oblong-lanceolate, opposite, without stipules, 3 nerved, upper ones alternate 

 and with leaflike stipules. Flowers in a loose raceme. Petals yellow, often with 

 a dark crimson spot at the base. Capsule smooth, with ciliate valves. 



Common and very variable in woods and sandy places. April-June. 



** Lower leaves with stipules. 



H. salicifolium Pers. A small downy annual. Lower leaves opposite, 

 stipuled, oblong ; upper ones alternate, lanceolate, stipuled. Flowers rather 

 small, pale yellow, in a loose raceme. Sepals hairy, flat after flowering. Capsule 

 rather shorter than calyx, downy at the joints. 



Dry grassy places, especially on limestone. April-June. 



H. vulgare L. = H. Chamaecistus Mill. Common Rock-rose. Shrubby 

 with almost woody base, about a foot high, very variable. Leaves oval, oblong 

 or linear-lanceolate, green and hairy above, downy beneath or entirely green ; 

 stipules lanceolate. Flowers yellow, rarely white or pink (H. roseum), and 

 sometimes quite large (H. grand if lorum DC.). Sepals oval, very hairy. Style 

 elongate, bent upwards, rather shorter than the downy capsule. 



Dry places, hill-sides, and woods. April-June. 



Var. roseum Burn. = H. roseum Bert. Flowers usually pink, rarely 

 nearly white or crimson. Plant greyish by reason of the short hairs on the stems, 

 leaves, and pedicels. 



