The Montpellier Cistus (Cistus monspeliensis) is an aromatic shrub of the rockrose family, with dark, resinous leaves, widespread in the Mediterranean scrubland of the Iberian Peninsula.
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Malvales |
| Family | Cistaceae |
| Genus | Cistus |
| Species | Cistus monspeliensis |
The Montpellier Cistus is an evergreen shrub between one and one and a half metres tall, upright and heavily branched, forming dense, dark thickets in the Mediterranean scrub. Its narrow, elongated leaves are coated in a sticky, resinous substance that gives them a shiny, dark appearance, hence its common name.
Its flowers, small compared with those of other rockroses, have five white petals and numerous yellow stamens, and appear in small clusters towards the tips of the branches in spring. The fruit is an ovoid capsule that opens as it dries to release the seeds.
It is found across the western Mediterranean and is especially abundant in the warm coastal and inland areas of the Iberian Peninsula and north-western Africa.
It readily colonises sunny slopes, banks and scrubland degraded by fires or felling, as it tolerates poor, dry soils well; its presence is often an indicator of the early stages of recovery of Mediterranean vegetation.
In some parts of the Canary Islands, the wood and branches of the Montpellier Cistus have traditionally been used to smoke artisan cheeses, giving them a very distinctive aroma and flavour.
Its scientific name, «monspeliensis», refers to the French city of Montpellier, where it was first described and identified by the botanists who documented the species.
