348 CISTUS 



distinguished by its narrow leaves. It is not one of the hardiest sorts, and 

 suffers in moderately severe winters. Where it survives it makes a neat 

 bush, remarkably profuse in blossom. 



C. POPULIFOLIUS, Linnceus. 



(Sweet's Cistineae, t. 23.) 



An evergreen shrub, 3 to 7 ft. high, of vigorous growth ; young .shoots 

 minutely downy and viscid. Leaves long-stalked, broadly ovate, with a deeply 

 heart-shaped base, pointed ; i to 3! ins. long, I to 2^ ins. wide, prominently 

 net-veined, ultimately smooth ; stalk | to I in. long, fringed with hairs. 

 Flowers white, 2 ins. across, with a yellow stain at the base of each petal, 

 produced during June from the leaf-axils at the apex of the previous year's 

 growth and beneath the new growth, in two- to five-flowered clusters ; flower- 

 stalk hairy, 2 to 3 ins. long. Sepals five, the outer ones heart-shaped, f in. 

 long, ^ in. wide at the base ; inner ones smaller. 



Native of S.W. Europe ; cultivated since 1656. It is quite distinct from 

 all other cultivated species of rock rose in having leaves larger and longer- 

 stalked than any. Whilst it will not withstand our hardest winters, it may 

 still be included among the hardier species, and is well worth growing. At 

 Narbonne, in the south of France, a form of this Cistus is found var. 

 NARBONNENSIS, Wtllkomm~vf\\.\i short-stalked flower clusters, and smaller 

 sepals hairy only on the margin. This I believe to be the hardiest form, and 

 the best for cultivation with us. 



C. PURPUREUS, Lamarck. 

 (Sweet's Cistineae, t. 17 ; Bot. Reg., t. 408.) 



A bush of rounded habit, 3 to 4 ft. high, and as much through ; young 

 branches downy and resinous. Leaves oblong - lanceshaped to obovate ; 

 i to 2 ins. long, f to f in. wide ; blunt at the apex, tapering at the base but 

 scarcely stalked, the bases clasping the stem ; upper surface dull greyish green, 

 the veins sunken ; the lower one pale with starry down. Flowers 2^ to 3 ins. 

 across, reddish purple witha conspicuous dark red blotch at the base of each 

 petal ; the flowers are borne in terminal clusters of about three. Sepals ovate, 

 with short slender points and covered with starry down. 



This fine rock rose, by far the best of its colour in cultivation, is considered 

 to be a hybrid between C. villosus, whence it gets its colour, and the spotted 

 form of C. ladaniferus, from which it derives its greater size, and striking 

 blotches on the petals. It is only hardy through comparatively mild winters. 



C. SALVIFOLIUS, Linnc^US. SAGE-LEAVED ROCK ROSE. 

 (Sweet's Cistmeae, t. 54.) 



An evergreen shrub about 2 ft. high, of compact habit ; the young stems, 

 both surfaces of the leaves, and sepals covered with a soft, dense coating 

 of starry down. Leaves shortly stalked, oval to ovate-oblong, \ to \\ ins. 

 long, \ to i in. wide. Flowers, white with a yellow stain at the base of each 

 petal, i\ to if ins. across, often solitary on their stalks. Sepals five, the outer 

 ones heart-shaped, with fine points and \ in. long ; inner ones smaller, ovate. 



Widely spread over S. Europe and along all the shores of the Mediterranean ; 

 cultivated since the middle of the sixteenth century, but not very hardy. 

 Moderately severe winters kill or severely injure it. It is allied to hirsutus 



