The hoary rockrose

Hoary rock-rose; Cistus creticus; ċistu roża

The hoary rock-rose is a very scarce plant that belongs to the cistus family. It grows as a bush which in spring is covered in large pink flowers. It is a Mediterranean species that can be found up to an altitude of 1000 m and is indigenous in the Maltese islands. It is found in garigue habitat in a few localities in the western part of Malta as well as in Gozo.

In Maltese, the hoary rock-rose or as it is sometimes called the pink rock-rose, is known as ċistu roża.

This plant is used both as a food as well as a medicine. The leaves are sometimes made into a tea while an oleo-resin found in the leaves and stems is used to flavour ice cream, chewing gum and cakes.

In traditional medicine it was used externally to control bleeding and as an antibiotic and internally to treat catarrh, and diarrhoea.  As early as in the 4^th century BC the ancient Greeks used rock-rose extracts to treat all kinds of skin disorders and the common cold.

Recent scientific studies have shown that this has anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-microbial and has been found to be an effective treatment of flu, coughs and colds.

The cistus family is a small family consisting of about 200 different species known for their beautiful flowers. About twenty species are found in the Mediterranean region. Cistuses are found mostly in temperate as well as in North and South America. They are particularly well adapted to survive in poor soils and can become the dominant species in some areas. 

 This article was published in TheTimes of Malta on  February 2014.

A rose that loves the sun

Mediterranean sun-rose Fumana arabica

The Mediterranean sun-rose is an indigenous yellow-flowered plant that is at its best in April and early May. In Maltese it is known as ċistu isfar.

It grows in garigue, the rocky arid habitat common in some parts of Malta. It shares this habitat with three other indigenous closely related members of the Cistus family.

The cistuses are also known as rock roses. The family consists of about twenty species many of which are found in the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea as well as in Portugal and the Canary Islands. Most species are yellow, pink or white.

The rock roses are very well adapted to survive in poor soils and dry conditions where many other species would not survive for long. They are also able to survive in areas which are susceptible to fires and they can take over a burnt site before other species of plants can make a foothold.

Nowadays cistuses can be found in gardens well outside their natural range and garden enthusiasts have created several varieties and cultivars.

The thyme-leaved sun-rose (ċistu żgħir), another indigenous species, has similar but smaller flowers and narrow leaves that resemble those of thyme.

Two other two related species are the narrow-leaved rockrose, known in Maltese as ċistu abjad, and the hoary rockrose known as ċistu roża. These species are larger with large beautiful flowers. They are not common and in fact in the Maltese islands the narrow leaved rockrose is restricted to two sites; one in Malta and another in Gozo.

The leaves of some species of rockroses, including the hoary rockrose, produce an aromatic substance which was used in medicine and which is still used in the production of perfumes. Up to the 18^th Century in Crete an instrument shaped like a rake but with leather thongs instead of teeth was passed over the cistus plants to collect  the resin. In ancient times the gum was collected from the beards and thighs of goats and sheep that had been grazing among the cistus plants.