Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Cistus ladanifer

Common name:	Labdanum	Family:	Cistaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 89, 200
Synonyms:	Cistus ladaniferus (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe - W. Mediterranean.
Habitat:	Pine woods, copses and on dry usually granitic hills[89, 184].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Girit Ladeni [E], Gum Cistus [MS], Gum Rock-rose [B], Gum Rockrose [P], Jara [E], Ladanum [E], Rock Rose [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	ladanifer = ladanum bearing
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Rock-rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Greece Spain Turkey

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 1.5m by 1m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Condiment Gum Manna Seed.

Seed - ground into a powder and used with cereal flours in making cakes and breads[177, 183].
An oleo-resin obtained from the leaves and stems is eaten raw or used as a commercial food flavouring in baked goods, ice cream, chewing gum etc[2, 105, 177, 183, 238].
The plant is said to yield a sweet manna[183].This report is probably referring to the oleo-resin mentioned above[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antibiotic Emmenagogue Expectorant Stimulant.

Labdanum is an aromatic, expectorant, stimulant herb that controls bleeding and has antibiotic effects[4, 238]. It is used internally in the treatment of catarrh and diarrhoea[238] and as an emmenagogue[4]. The leaves are harvested in late spring and early summer and can be dried for later use, or the resin extracted from them[238].

Other Uses

Resin.

The glandular hairs on the leaves yield the oleo-resin 'ladanum', used medicinally and in soaps, perfumery, fumigation etc[4, 11, 46, 61, 64, 89, 100]. This resin is an acceptable substitute for ambergris (which is obtained from the sperm whale) and so is important in perfume manufacture[238]. The resin is collected by dragging a type of rake through the plant, the resin adhering to the teeth of the rake, or by boiling the twigs and skimming off the resin[64, 89]. Most resin is produced at the hottest time of the year[46].

Cultivation details

Requires a sunny position in a well-drained light sandy soil[11, 182], growing well in poor soils[238]. Withstands drought once it is established[11, 190]. Plants are fairly wind resistant[166, K], tolerating maritime exposure[188]. Resents root disturbance[11].
Plants are hardy to about -10c[184], but they require protection in severe winters[11]. Plants are somewhat hardier when grown in poor soils[182].
Individual flowers only last one day but there is a long succession of them[11, 200].
Labdanum dislikes pruning, especially as it gets older and so any formative work should be restricted to removing dead, straggly or damaged growths[238]. The plant also resents root disturbance[200]. Plants should be pot grown and then planted out in their final positions whilst still small.
Sometimes cultivated for its gum, which is known as 'Labdanum', this is exuded in such quantity in hot weather that the plant becomes very sticky[4, 61]. The leaves have glandular hairs which produce an aromatic gum. The sweet balsamic smell is most apparent in the summer in the early morning[245].
A very ornamental plant, it is very free-flowering and fast growing[49]. There are a number of named forms developed for their ornamental value[182].
An excellent nurse plant for sheltering young seedlings[49].
This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[88, 200].
The flowers are very attractive to bees[108].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[200].

Propagation

Seed - gather when ripe and store dry[78]. Surface sow in late winter in a greenhouse[164]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 4 weeks at 20° c[164]. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle into individual pots. Grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out the in the following spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts[164]. The seed stores for at least 3 years[K].
Cuttings of softish to half-ripe wood, 8cm long with a heel or at a node, June/August in a frame. Roots are formed within 3 weeks[78]. High percentage[78].
Cuttings of almost mature wood, 8 - 12cm with a heel or at a node, September/October in a frame. High percentage[78]. Lift and pot up in the spring, plant out when a good root system has formed[78].
Layering in spring.

Scent

Leaves: Fresh Crushed: The leaves have glandular hairs which produce an aromatic gum. The sweet balsamic smell is most apparent in the summer in the early morning.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Cistus ladaniferus (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Cistaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[49] Arnold-Forster. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
Trees and shrubs that grow well in &ndndndnd and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[88] RHS. The Garden. Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society 1987
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.

[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

Cistus ladanifer

Unknown Sat Dec 2 20:11:03 2000

Also present in Portugal

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Cistus+ladanifer
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Cistus+ladanifer

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.