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Key Facts
 | Flower colour: white, with or without a maroon blotch at the base of
each petal; unblotched forms are called var. albiflorus. |
| Flower diameter: 11cm |
| Height & Spread: 3m x 1m (but see below) |
| Habit: upright (but see below) |
| Notes: flowers solitary. The source of modern commercial ladanum,
the sticky gum exuded from leaves and young stems. The type species is an
ungainly plant not well suited to cultivation, but the parent of many superb
hybrids. There are, however many variants and cultivars which are much
better garden plants. |
| Variants: var. sulcatus f. latifolius
- a low-growing variant with broader
leaves; var. sulcatus f. bicolor has blotched petals; var.
petiolatus is fairly compact; var. petiolatus 'Bennett's White' is
a fine cultivar with frilly petals. |
| Cultivars: 'Blanche' (unblotched), 'Paladin' and 'Pat'
(both blotched), all raised by Collingwood Ingram, are intermediate between
the type and var. sulcatus, raised by crossing the two. My 'Minstrel'
is similar, with large, black blotches. 'John Hardy' is of unknown
recent origin. It appears to be var. sulcatus f. bicolor. 'Bashful'
is a miniature sport from C. ladanifer var. albiflorus, attaining only about
30cm, but with almost full-size flowers. |
'Paladin'↑
'Blanche'↑
Cistus ladanifer L. var. sulcatus
f. latifolius↑
Cistus ladanifer var. sulcatus f. bicolor↑
Cistus ladanifer var. petiolatus
'Bennett's White'↑
'Pat'↑
N.B. Erratum: On page
44 of our guide Bygrave, P. (ed. Page, R.G.) (2001) Cistus - A Guide
to the Collection at the Chelsea Physic Garden, Cistus ladanifer
'Pat' is described as having pure white flowers. In fact each petal has a
large dark maroon basal blotch.
'Bashful'
(miniature)↑
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This page last modified
29/04/12
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