''Cistus'' × ''incanus'' L. is a hybrid between ''
Cistus albidus
''Cistus albidus'', the grey-leaved cistus, is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the family Cistaceae, with pink to purple flowers, native to south-western Europe and western north Africa.
Description
''Cistus albidus'' grows up to tall. ...
'' and ''
Cistus crispus
''Cistus crispus'' is a shrubby species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group o ...
''. The name "''Cistus incanus''" (
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
''C. villosus'') has been used by other authors in a different sense, for ''
Cistus creticus
''Cistus creticus'' (pink rock-rose, hoary rock-rose) is a species of shrubby plant in the family 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 pl ...
'' (at least in part). The English name hoary rock-rose may refer to this species, among others.
Description
Because of confusion between the original species named by Linnaeus in 1753 and the way in which the name was used by later authors (see § Taxonomy), plants described under this name may actually belong to different species. ''C.'' × ''incanus'' is a shrubby plant, to about tall, with grey-green leaves and pink to purple flowers.
Taxonomy
The name ''Cistus incanus'' was first used by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...
in 1753 in ''
Species Plantarum
' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...
''. Confusion exists among this name and two later names published by Linnaeus, ''
Cistus creticus
''Cistus creticus'' (pink rock-rose, hoary rock-rose) is a species of shrubby plant in the family 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 pl ...
'' in 1762 and ''Cistus villosus'' in 1764. There is general agreement that ''C. villosus'', at least as used by later authors, is not a distinct species. Two treatments are then found.
In the first, generally older, treatment, ''C. incanus'' is accepted, with ''C. villosus'' being a synonym. ''C. creticus'' is treated as ''C. incanus'' subsp. ''creticus''.
According to Demoly (1996), Linnaeus's ''Cistus incanus'' was recognized to be a hybrid as early as 1904. The second treatment (followed here) is based on this recognition. ''C. creticus'' is accepted, with ''C. villosus'' as a synonym. ''C.'' × ''incanus'' L. is treated as the hybrid ''C. albidus'' × ''C. crispus''. As used by previous authors, but not Linnaeus, the name "''C. incanus''" is taken to refer to ''Cistus creticus'', particularly ''C. creticus'' subsp. ''eriocephalus''. Two formerly recognised subspecies of ''C. incanus'' are regarded as subspecies of ''Cistus creticus'':
*''Cistus'' × ''incanus'' subsp. ''corsicus'' = ''C. creticus'' subsp. ''corsicus''
*''Cistus'' × ''incanus'' subsp. ''creticus'' = ''C. creticus'' subsp. ''creticus''