''Cistus creticus'' (pink rock-rose, hoary rock-rose) is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of shrubby

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cistaceae. Though it usually has pink flowers, of 4.5–5 cm diameter, this species is very variable. It is widely known as a decorative plant. It is frequently called "''Cistus incanus''". (The true ''Cistus'' × ''incanus'' is the hybrid ''C. albidus'' × ''C. crispus''.) It is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean Basin, including Morocco, Corsica and Sardinia, Italy and southeastern Europe, Turkey, and the Levant.

Taxonomy

The name ''Cistus creticus'' was first used by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1762. Confusion exists between this name and one published earlier by Linnaeus, '' Cistus incanus''. As used by many authors, but not Linnaeus, the name "''C. incanus''" is taken to refer to ''Cistus creticus'', particularly ''C. creticus'' subsp. ''eriocephalus''.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted. *''Cistus creticus'' subsp. ''creticus'' – central and eastern Mediterranean Basin *''Cistus creticus'' subsp. ''trabutii'' – Morocco There are also several well-known

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s, such as 'Lasithi' with compact, rounded flowers.

Phylogeny

''Cistus creticus'' belongs to the clade of species with purple and pink flowers (the "purple pink clade" or PPC), in a subclade with '' C. heterophyllus'' and '' C. albidus''.

References

External links

Malta Wild Plants

Jepson Manual Treatment
* creticus Flora of Corsica Flora of Cyprus Flora of the East Aegean Islands Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Malta Flora of Morocco Flora of Palestine (region) Flora of Sardinia Flora of Southeastern Europe Flora of Turkey Plants described in 1762 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Malvales-stub