Grey-leaved cistus or Montpelier cistus: how to tell them apart?
Grey-leaved cistus and Montpelier cistus look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Grey-leaved cistus
Cistus albidus
Montpelier cistus
Cistus monspeliensis
Montpelier cistus has small white flowers and narrow, sticky, dark green leaves, whereas grey-leaved cistus has large pink flowers and ovate leaves covered in whitish down.
🍃 Leaves
Evergreen, ovate, grey-green, covered in a fine cottony down
Narrow, lanceolate, sessile or nearly so, often sticky and aromatic, with three clearly visible longitudinal veins.
🌸 Flowers
Large pink to purple flowers with five crinkled petals, usually solitary or few at the tips of the shoots.
Small white flowers with a yellow centre, numerous
🍎 Fruits
Small brown capsules
Small brown capsules
🪵 Bark
Downy grey twigs, compact bushy habit
Grey-brown twigs, dense bushy habit
📏 Size
0.5 to 1.5 m tall
0.5 to 1 m tall
🗺️ Habitat
Garrigue, dry banks, rock gardens, poor well-drained soils
Garrigue, dry banks, rock gardens, poor soils
⚠️ Toxicity
No known toxicity.
No known toxicity.
🔎 And from the Montpelier cistus side
Montpelier cistus has small white flowers and narrow, sticky, dark green leaves, whereas grey-leaved cistus has large pink flowers and ovate leaves covered in whitish down.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.