Today we are going to talk about a medicinal plant that has various uses and is known to many. We refer to male rosemary. Its scientific name is cistus clusii and it has nothing to do with rosemary. It is given that name because of its certain resemblance. Authentic rosemary belongs to the genus Rosmarinus and common rosemary has the scientific name of Rosmarinus officinalis. As you can see, it has nothing to do with him Cistus clusii. This plant has medicinal virtues that have gone unnoticed and that have been little used, but that in rural areas continues to have a great appreciation for popular wisdom.
In this article we are going to explain why male rosemary has these good properties and what characteristics it has unlike traditional rosemary.
Key features
As we have mentioned before, traditional rosemary and male rosemary have nothing to do with each other. Its name is only due to its resemblance. The main difference between them are the flowers and the aroma. The cistus clusii it does not have an aroma like rosemary. Otherwise, both plants are very similar. What's more, they grow in nearby areas and with the same characteristics.
The area where they are raised is the western Mediterranean. They prefer limestone and stony soils. They can usually be found in bushes. Its flowering takes place in spring. Depending on the rainfall that has occurred in winter, the flowering will be more abundant or not. If it is abundant, it offers a quite beautiful panorama of nature in its purest form. The flowers are white.
Description and habitat
It is a bush with evergreen leaves and is highly branched. It is somewhat viscous to the touch and suffocating. The leaves are opposite and very narrow. They are more similar to those of rosemary. Their flowers are the biggest difference between these plants. The smell it has is something similar to that of resin. The leaves are green on the front and stormy white on the back. The central nerve is very marked.
Its flowers bloom in the time of May and June when the temperatures begin to be higher. They have flower stalks and calyx covered with white hairs. The average corolla about 3 cm in diameter and the calyx has 3 sepals. The fruit is capsular and has an opening through 5 valves.
Its natural habitat is found in the mountains near romerales, slopes and edges of cultivation that are dry. Prefers calcareous soils. It is quite abundant in Banyeres de Mariola and in the surrounding mountains.
This plant has some medicinal properties that they have not been very exploited due to their ignorance. However, people who live in rural areas are well aware of its medicinal characteristics.
Medicinal properties of cistus clusii
One of the many medicinal uses it has is to improve blood circulation. Lots of people have circulation problems or spend long hours on their feet at work. For these people it is better to take infusions with male rosemary leaves to improve circulation and avoid varicose veins. For a greater effect they also advise to take the flowers for the maceration of the plant. The liquid has a taste that is not quite good, but it is not too unpleasant either.
Another of the uses that male rosemary has is that of use it as an anti-inflammatory. It is used to treat heaviness and swelling of the legs. In order to take advantage of this medicinal property we have to make baths with its infusion. You can also make a cream to apply in more relaxing massages that improve the state of inflammation.
Has antirheumatic properties. To take advantage of these properties we will use the aerial part of the plant and crush it. Once crumbled, we make a decoct with two tablespoons of the plant for each liter of water. We apply this mixture both in baths and compresses with the liquid impregnated on the parts that are most affected and painful. It will help greatly to relieve pain and symptoms.
We can use it as an anticatarrhal. It has always been said that the best natural medicine is preventive. To do this, we will make a decoct with the aerial part of the plant. We will crumble it and use a tablespoon of the plant for every 250 ml of water. We will have a cup a day with this infusion. This recipe also works to soothe migraines and toothaches. To do this, we will perform mouthwashes as many times as necessary.
Other uses
Although it is not too widespread, also it can be used as an antihypertensive. As we have seen before, the cistus clusii helps improve circulation. This makes it also serve to lower blood pressure for those who have it very high. To benefit from these properties we must make the decoct somewhat softer, with more water and less concentrated. If we want, we can add a pinch of Lavandula broadleaf in case you want to enhance the effect. Then we will have a cup once or twice a day to see the effects.
This decoction that we have mentioned is more effective than the one made with traditional rosemary, or so popular wisdom says. One piece of advice given to people who use male rosemary in infusions is that when try to ingest it, we must act prudently. That is, carefully observe in ourselves that our body accepts the decoct without problems. We must make sure that we are not allergic or do not feel bad about these infusions and we have some undesirable effect.
This plant is not so well known because it is not well studied. All of the above is largely due to popular knowledge about the plant in rural areas. Through time and generations, people have passed the recipes and helped alleviate their health problems. In these places, there was a lack of a doctor many times, so the people had to improve their knowledge of medicinal plants.
This makes us think to what extent people are capable of improving in an area when it becomes necessary. I hope that with this information you can know more about the Cistus clusii.