The Cistus ladanifer, Commonly known as sticky rockrose or labdanum rockrose, it is a shrub belonging to the Cistaceae family, native to the Mediterranean basin. It is characterized by its establishment in degraded and poor soils, in addition to its strong aroma and its showy flowers..
It is considered a plant with allelopathic effects since it inhibits the growth of other plants around it. In terms of its uses, sticky rockrose has a strong commercial and forestry interest.
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Labdanum rockrose is an erect evergreen shrub 50 to 400 cm tall, somewhat woody and with strong, sticky bark. It is reddish brown in color and does not come off.
Like its twigs, its leaves are characterized by the presence of an odorous and sticky substance called labdanum.
Regarding their characteristics, these measure 40 - 110 mm long by 6 - 21 mm wide. They are sessile, therefore they lack union with their stem or petiole. They are sheathing machines and are welded together at the base.
They are lanceolate - elliptical to linear - lanceolate or leathery (flexible and hard in texture). Its margin curves towards the underside or lower face, which is covered with stellate hairs and a protruding nerve. Its upper face or beam is characterized by being green.
The sticky rockrose has solitary flowers with a diameter of 5 to 8 cm, being really showy. Its calyx is made up of 3 oval sepals and multicellular trichomes, green and yellow in color, and with 30 to 55 mm white petals, with a yellow spot at the base. Sometimes this spot appears purple.
As for its stamens, these are uneven, becoming longer than the pistil. In turn, his ovary is tomentose.
It is of the capsule type with a size of 10 to 15 mm and has 9 or 10 locules. The fruit opens spontaneously and its clothing is hairless..
They are polyhedral, globose and have a size of 1 mm.
The species Cistus ladanifer It is also known as sticky rockrose, common rockrose, labdanum rockrose, white steppe, ladán steppe, spotted flower rockrose, mountain rockrose, sticky rockrose, white jurazgo, sticky rockrose, mangala, ledo, thief, lada ladón, goo , rose of the rockrose.
Its taxonomic classification is as follows:
-Kingdom: Plantae
-Phylum: Tracheophyta
-Class: Magnoliopsida
-Order: Malvales
-Family: Cistaceae
-Gender: Cistus
-Species: Cistus ladanifer L.
Now, for this species there are the following interspecific taxa:
-Cistus ladanifer subsp. ladanifer
-Cistus ladanifer subsp. mautitianus Pau & Sennen
-Cistus ladanifer subsp. sulcatus (J. P. Demoly) P. Montserrat
Source: Javier martin [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]
The sticky rockrose is found in sunny and dry bushes and places with non-calcareous soils, somewhat degraded and poor. Due to its resistance to fire, it is found in places where fires are frequent.
It develops at altitudes ranging from sea level to 1500 m, usually in regions where the summer is dry and hot. However, it can be found in very diverse climates, as it is able to withstand cold, dryness and high temperatures..
This steppe is native to the Mediterranean basin, although it is scattered in the western Mediterranean, covering Morocco and Portugal to Algeria and the Côte d'Azur.
-Anti-inflammatory
-Antioxidant
-Anticancer
-Antiviral
-Antifungal
-Antiprotozoal
-Antitumor
-Antibacterial
-Platelet antiplatelet
-Digestive action and treatments
-Antidepressant
-Immunomodulatory
-Chelator mostly of lead and cadmium
-Antispasmodic
-Antihypertensive
Thanks to its properties, it has various medical uses such as: it helps and strengthens the immune system, neutralizes free radicals and is used to treat ulcers and gastritis. In addition, it is used as a natural antibiotic or against flu infections and colds, among other uses..
The substance it contains called labdanum, which is a gum formed by resins, is widely used in the perfume industry to fix other essences. It is important to highlight that Spain is among the main exporting countries of labdanum essence.
The leaves of the sticky rockrose are used for the production of tea by the Arabs in Algeria.
It is widely used in gardens for presenting such colorful colors.
Due to the fact that this plant has a large number of stamens, it has the ability to produce a lot of pollen, which calls for numerous insects, among which bees stand out. These help in the production of rockrose honey.
Among the pollinating insects of this plant are the coleopterans and hymenopterans. One of the most frequent, even in other species of Cistus, it's the beetle Baleful oxythrea.
This kind of Cistus it is able to withstand moderate cold temperatures; however, it does best in high temperatures. Does not resist frost.
It is important to keep the plant exposed to sunlight.
It is characterized by developing in poor, dry, acidic and well-drained soils, not tolerating calcareous soil. It should be noted that its presence is indicative of poor soils.
When the plant is exposed to strong winds, it is necessary to implement some type of support or support system.
It is important to irrigate moderately, without lime. It is a plant that resists drought. It should be noted that sticky rockrose does not tolerate waterlogging, so in regions with constant and humid rains it requires a greenhouse.
Despite not being so necessary, mineral fertilizer can be used biweekly, always in spring.
Branches that are already dead should be pruned when winter is ending. However, it is advisable after each flowering is to prune the plants, since this procedure will help to invigorate the plant by making it more dense..
Ideally, select the planting site well, as sticky rockrose does not react optimally to transplants. If necessary, this should be done with the root ball in the spring.
It can be done in two ways by seeds which must be sown at the end of winter or by the cuttings technique in the summer.
Among the diseases that are documented for sticky rockrose, the most aggressive and frequent in this species is sticky rockrose canker. Here are all the details:
This disease is caused by the fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug.) Ces. & From Not. 1863, belonging to the Botryosphaeriaceae family.
This fungus is dispersed worldwide, being more frequent in Andalusia and possibly in the dispersal area of Cistus ladanifer L.
Canker has been reported as one of the strongest diseases that attacks the species Cistus ladanifer, being one of the main causes of his death.
The symptoms lie in the gradual loss of turgor in the leaves. This occurs when the pressure produced in each cell by the salty water that is inside it is affected. This cell pushes and lifts the cell walls of the cells, which dehydrates the cells and induces the loss of turgor..
Therefore, the affected leaves curl and fold over themselves, later presenting a yellowish color and finally becoming completely dry, taking on a dark brown color. These affected leaves remain folded and glued together, remaining attached to the branch for a long time..
However, in the branches that present these symptoms, the presence of cankers can be easily appreciated, which consists of very elongated cortical lesions, sometimes occupying the entire length of the branches..
These cankers or cortical lesions, manifest in the cortex as depressed lesions, being difficult to identify on some occasions, since a change in color is not appreciated in relation to the color of the healthy cortex..
However, when the cortex is necrotic it is possible to see small, somewhat dark pustules, about 1 mm in diameter. These pustules correspond to the pycnidia, which consist of asexual reproduction structures, which are present in the pathogenic agent, in this case the fungus..
When there is high humidity, the pycnidia or asexual reproductive structures produce a white mucilaginous mass of immobile asexual spores (conidia).
To check for the presence of the chancre, the outer bark can be removed and its color observed. When the plant is healthy the color of the bark should be greenish yellow. On the other hand, when it is affected, it has a somewhat dark brown color, and the transition area between the necrotic or affected part and the healthy one is easily delimited..
It is important to note that in cankers that are older, especially those found on dead branches, they cause the bark to acquire a rough texture and furrowed by a large number of longitudinal cracks..
It is important to note that this disease begins with the wilting of each leaf and necrosis of the apex. These symptoms increase over time, strongly affecting from the apex to the point of drying or progressive death, which can appear simultaneously, either in one or in several branches of the plant..
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