''Cistus horrens'' is a

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

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), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Cistaceae The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in eight genera that are ...

, with purple to pink flowers. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. First described as a species in 2004, it was previously identified as '' Cistus symphytifolius'', which it resembles.

Description

''Cistus horrens'' generally resembles the more widespread '' Cistus symphytifolius''. Differences include young branches covered with simple hairs; leaf blades grayer and shorter, densely covered with simple, glandular and stellate hairs on the upper surface and with longer simple hairs on the lower surface, with glandular hairs only on the nerves; sepals densely covered with simple hairs; and smaller fruiting capsules with fewer seeds. The leaves are elliptical to lanceolate, stalked ( petiolate) and have netted (reticulate) veins. The stigmas are longer than the stamens.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

''Cistus horrens'' was first described as a new species by Jean-Pierre Demoly in 2004; it had previously been treated as ''C. symphytifolius''. The specific epithet ''horrens'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "standing erect, bristling". A 2011 molecular phylogenetic study placed ''C. horrens'' as a member of the purple and pink flowered clade (PPC) of ''Cistus'' species, along with some other Canary Island endemics (''

Cistus asper ''Cistus asper'' is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae with purple-pink flowers. It was first described in 2005 and is endemic to El Hierro in the Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archip ...

'', ''

Cistus chinamadensis ''Cistus chinamadensis'' is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae, with purple-pink flowers, first described in 1991. It is endemic to the Canary Islands, where three subspecies occur on three separate islands (Tenerife, La ...

'', '' Cistus ocreatus'', and '' Cistus symphytifolius'').

Distribution and habitat

''Cistus horrens'' is

in the

, being found in the south-west sector of the island. It is typically found at elevations of in pine forests, in semiarid conditions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15330314 horrens Plants described in 2004 Endemic flora of the Canary Islands Flora of Gran Canaria