Analysis of plant form in some Mediterranean shrubs

Growth, Flowering, and Cold Hardiness of Rockrose in Western Oregon

“…All the species are evergreen shrubs and range in habit from prostrate to sprawling or, in some cases, erect large shrubs. Although evergreen, they are considered drought semideciduous (malacophyllous), possessing the ability to develop different types of leaves in summer and winter, and to drop leaves during prolonged periods of drought (Acosta et al, 1997). As a result, rockroses are well adapted to growing in hot, dry situations, and in relatively poor soils.…”

“…Leaf drop is a normal response to summer drought in malacophyllous shrubs like rockroses, and the degree of defoliation in response to drought stress varies within Cistaceae (Zunzunegui et al, 2002(Zunzunegui et al, , 2005. The appearance of some Cistus with bare stems and leaves remaining primarily at the shoot tips is typical of their strategy for survival in the wild, even if this detracts from their ornamental appeal (Acosta et al, 1997). The loss of leaf area to drought stress in summer has been shown to be as high as 61%, with the remaining leaves subject to photoinhibition damage (Werner et al, 1999).…”