Cistus ladanifer, Labdanum

Rockrose
Ladan, Qissus (Unani)

Ortus Sanitatis, Meydenbach, 1491

Left: Male Cistus; Right: Female Cistus
Kreutterbuch, Matthiolus, 1586

Medical Botany, Woodville, Hooker, Vol. 3, 1832

Cistus creticus
(Photo by Pancrat) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:

Cistus creticus, C. ladanifer

Parts used:

Resin exuding spontaneously from the leaves and branches.
Two varieties are found on the market:
1. Labdanum in mass: soft, glutinant masses, blackish-red or blackish (best, but rare)
2. Labdanum in tortis: flattened, twisted cylinders, dry, hard and brittle, blackish-grey in color
Avicenna said “Labdanum is of three varieties: black, white and red”
Today, the raw resin is extracted by boiling the leafy twigs.

Temperature & Taste:

Warm, dry. Pungent, Bitter, Aromatic

Uses:

1. Opens the Orifices, Moves Qi, Clears Phlegm:
-suffocative Asthma, Catarrh
-obstruction of the Uterus, Hysteria
-Cough in children, applied in plasters to the chest and upper back
-used in perfumes and fumigations to uplift Spirit, clear the Head and remove obstruction of Qi

2. Warms the Stomach, Moves Qi:
-pain, distention of the Stomach
-Vomiting

3. Moves the Blood:
-helps cleanse the Afterbirth
-fumigation is used for Puerperal diseases (Unani)

4. Externally:
-added to plasters as a local warming stimulant, principally to warm the Stomach or Head
-in plasters for Hernia
-helps retain and strengthen the hair when applied

Corrective:

1. Sandalwood
2. Rose water

Substitute:

1. Indian Spikenard (Unani)
2. Storax
3. Labdanum is an accepted vegetable substitute for Ambergris and Musk in perfumery

Main Combinations:

1.. Asthma, Labdanum with Storax, Aloeswood, Camphor (as in Alipta Moschata of Nicholas)
2. Hysteria, Labdanum with Asafetida, Rue
3. As a fumigant, Labdanum with Olibanum, Myrrh, Amber, Storax, Benzoin
4. As a plaster to warm the Stomach, Labdanum with Olibanum, Storax, Benzoin
5. Plaster for Hernia. Labdanum with Turpentine, Mastic, Comfrey root, Cypress nuts, Armenian Earth
6. To nourish the strengthen the Hair, Labdanum with Storax, Saffron, Gum ammoniac, infused in wine and applied

Cautions:

Not used during pregnancy