Spontaneously Combustible Cistus

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

It is possible that a person learned self-sacrifice from an evergreen plant, which in Russian sounds like "Ladannik". In addition, the plant adorns the Earth with large bright flowers, and its leaves and stems exude a pleasant aroma

Rod Cistus

The stress in the word"

Cistus"Falls on the first letter"

but . The botanical name of the genus sounds like “

Cystus"(Cistus). The genus unites about two dozen species of evergreen dwarf shrubs and shrubs, the leaves and young stems of which are covered with a thick layer of glandular hairs. The hairs not only create a look of fluffy protection, but also give off an aromatic resin - incense. True, the incense that the Christian church uses during divine services is not obtained from the Cistus, but from a tree that grows mainly in Arabia and is called the "Frankincense tree." (The homeland of Cistus is the Mediterranean).

But the cistus resin has been used by people for perfumery and medicinal purposes since ancient times. The current century was marked by the discovery that the content of polyphenols (especially magical antioxidants) in the leaves of Cistus is much higher than in red wine and green tea, which are recognized today as leaders in this area. It is possible that scientists did not make such a discovery, but this is just another publicity stunt of a German company that put on sale a number of products made from Cistus leaves, including the Cistus tea, which appeared on the Russian market as well.

The decorative effect of the shrub is given by large flowers that live only one day. Five bright petals of simple-shaped flowers, reminiscent of the flowers of our friend, Rosehip, having discovered their beauty in the morning, fall off in the evening. This does not affect the abundance and duration of flowering of the entire bush, since more and more new ones are revealed to replace the fallen ones.

It is impossible to ignore the sacrifice of Cistus. Essential oils secreted by leaves and stems can provoke spontaneous combustion of a shrub if the air temperature exceeds plus 32 degrees Celsius. As a result, only ash remains from the shrub, which fertilizes the soil in order to enable new plants to grow on it. It would seem, how can new plants grow if everything is burned out? But Cistus took care of his offspring, hiding his seeds in a hard shell, which is not afraid of fire. So new shoots of life are sprouting on the ashes.

Such sacrifice would be delightful if only the Cistus bushes burned down in the fire. But along the way, innocent neighbors are burning. Sometimes conflagrations cover large areas. So similar to the life of modern society.

Varieties

* Cistus incense (Cistus ladaniferus) is a shrub that can withstand a short cold. The underside of the leaves is protected by a fleecy fluff. At the beginning of summer, flowers collected in a brush with yellow glossy stamens bloom.

* Cistus laurel (Cistus laurifolius) is a relatively cold-hardy shrub blooming with white flowers from May to August. A yellow spot is located at the base of the petals. The leaves are oval-lanceolate, grayish on the underside.

* Curly Cistus (Cistus crispus) - from April to July, a shrub with rough pale green leaves adorned with dark pink flowers blooming at the tops of the shoots.

In the photo below, Montpellier Cistus:

In addition, the following are popular with gardeners:

Cistus white (Cistus albidus);

Cistus of Montpellier (Cistus monspeliensis);

Cistus poplar (Cistus populifolius), Cistus (Cistus salvifolius); and many hybrid decorative species have been bred.

Growing

Cistus plant is best suited to coastal areas, and in colder climates it can be grown as a pot culture.

Loves the sun, suffers partial shade.

Some species tolerate short-term cold. They are not afraid of drought.

Propagated by seeds, and hybrid species - by cuttings.