Rockroses: marine rockrose

Cistus is a genus of shrub-like, fruit-bearing species typical of Mediterranean maquis shrublands, with eye-catching, radially symmetrical flowers featuring a corolla composed of five white or pink petals. The ideal habitat for rockrose is on coastal soils low in calcium. Its Latin name, cistus, derives from the Greek word kystis, or 'small pouch', referring to the capsule containing its tiny seeds.

The rockrose species most widespread on this island is Cistus monspeliensis, Montpellier rockrose, also known as marine rockrose, a bushy, upright, perennial plant growing 50 to 120 cm tall. Its lower section has a sturdy, woody stem with dark brown bark and its younger branches are herbaceous, furry and greenish-grey in colour. Particularly distinctive are its sessile leaves, bright green, opposing and linear, resinous to the touch and emitting the typical aromatic scent that pervades the air of the slopes that are home to these bushes. Its spring blossoms are abundant, with numerous white flowers, small and delicate (up to 3 cm in diameter) yet eye-catching due to their snow-white colour, adorning the maquis with their five petals and central nucleus of yellow stamens. The fruit consists of a spherical capsule containing the seeds. During the summer season, the appear to become dry, turning dark brown, then recover, coming back refreshed with the first autumn rain.

This is the most abundant type of rockrose, growing in scrublands, low, in degraded maquis shrublands and in coastal environments. Being a pyrophyte plant, it is among the first to colonise terrain affected by fires due to the ability of its seeds to survive high temperatures. The species is visited by all kinds of insects and very popular with chafer beetles (Cetonia aurata). In April to May, especially during the cooler and damper periods of spring, its white blossoms are accompanied by numerous pale patches of froth produced by spittlebugs (Philaenus spumarius), a strategy used by these small insects to protect themselves from dehydration and predators.

(Antonello Marchese, translation from Italian)