half as long as the inner ones, and more spreading;
filaments slender, smooth: pollen orange-coloured.
Germen densely tomentose. Style smooth, about the
length of the stamens. Stigma capitate, slightly
3-lobed, tuberculate.
This handsome and very distinct speeies, is a native
of France, Spain, and Portugal, and is said to have
been cultivated in this country as far back as 1731; it
is a pretty plant for ornamenting rock-work, but is
liable to be injured in very severe winters, except covered
with mats or a little dry litter in severe frost;
if there happen to be a sufficiency of snow on the
ground, that will answer the purpose; but it is best
to have some plants of it in pots, that may be protected
in a frame in severe weather; those can be turned
out in the ground in Spring, where they will thrive
and flower well.
The present plant is generally sold in the nurseries
by the name of Cistus Libanotis, which is a very different
species, and appears to be much more rare than
this plant, as we have not been able to detect it this
Summer in any collection that we have examined ; this
species varies considerably in habit and pubescence,
according to the situation in which it is grown; if
grown under glass, it is much more pubescent, and
the leaves are strongly fringed, as in our figure; but
when grown in the open air, the leaves are quite smooth
and glossy, with scarcely a vestige of pubescence, except
on the under side, where they are clothed with a
dense tomentum ; we, therefore, believe the two varieties
of M. Decandolle to be occasioned only by difference
of situation ; we have accordingly united them.
Our drawing was taken from a plant lent us from
the Nursery of Mr. Lee, at Hammersmith, in June
last; it thrives well in small pots, in a mixture of
sandy loam and peat, and continues to bloom in succession
from June to August. Young cuttings, planted
under hand-glasses, strike root readily; it may also be
raised from seeds, which ripen plentifully.