Cistus ladanum
- noun
- Specialized
- The sticky leaves of Cistus ladanum are harvested to obtain a valuable resin for perfumes.
Examples
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Perfumers often rely on Cistus ladanum as a fixative to make scents last longer.
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The Cistus ladanum shrub is known for its fragrant resin.
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Botanists studied the ecological role of Cistus ladanum in Mediterranean habitats.
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Many perfumers use Cistus ladanum as a fixative in their blends.
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Perfumers often rely on Cistus ladanum as a fixative to make scents last longer.
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The sticky leaves of Cistus ladanum are harvested to obtain a valuable resin for perfumes.
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Many perfumers use Cistus ladanum as a fixative in their blends.
Synonyms
A shrub from the Mediterranean with white flowers and sticky leaves that produce a fragrant resin used in perfume
A Mediterranean shrub with white flowers and sticky leaves that produce fragrant sap used in perfume
Surface Forms
Morphology
Given the constituents — 'Cistus' (a genus of shrubs) and 'ladanum' (a fragrant resin) — a learner who knows both can infer this is a Cistus species associated with or producing ladanum resin. The meaning is compositional and follows standard botanical naming patterns, so the overall sense is directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Cistus ladanum may come from an old way of collecting its sticky perfume resin: goat herders would comb the plant and the resin stuck to the animals' beards. So the name ladanum became linked to the plant's strong, sticky scent used as a 'fixative' in perfumes.