Cistus is a shrub with pink or white ornamental flowers, whose twigs and leaves secrete an odorous and viscous resin: the labdanum.
Cistus aerial parts can be steam-distilled, to obtain the essential oil or extracted with volatile solvents for the manufacture of oleoresin (Concrete and Absolute).
SEVERAL EXTRACTS OBTAINED FROM THE ROCK ROSE/ CISTUS PLANT ARE PRODUCED BY DISTILLERS:
DIRECTLY EXTRACTED FROM THE LEAVES AND TWIGS RAW MATERIAL: CISTUS ESSENTIAL OIL AND CISTUS ABSOLUTE,
EXTRACTED FROM THE LABDANUM/RESIN OF CISTUS: LABDANUM CONCRETE AND LABDANUM ABSOLUTE
THE RESIN/LABDANUM EXTRACTS FROM THE CISTUS PLANT GIVE AMBER TO DARK-ORANGE, VISCOUS TO GUMMY EXTRACTS, WITH A CHARACTERISTIC WARM, DEEP, RESINOUS, AND TENACIOUS AROMA.
WHEREAS THE AERIAL PARTS (LEAVES, TWIGS) DIRECT STEAM-DISTILLATION OF THE CISTUS/ROCK ROSE PLANT, GIVES A PALE-YELLOW TO PALE-ORANGE, TRANSPARENT, LIQUID, ESSENTIAL OIL.
This essential oil is also highly and powerfully aromatic, but is balsamic, fresh, aerial at first