White steppe. Estepa d'escurar. Cistus albidus L.

The white steppe is a plant that grows on the slopes of Puig Campana. It is very eye-catching and it is the one that Manuel Mayor Rabasa, El Beato, has chosen for this month of May. Thanks to the generosity of this scholar of the flora of Finestrat, it is possible to know more about the flowers that grow in this town in the Marina Baixa.

Did you know???

My popular name "white steppe" is not given to me because of the color of my flowers which are pink. You will rarely find specimens with white flowers. The main reason for my name will be found in the Latin epithet "albidus" which means whitish, given the abundant fuzz of this color that covers my leaves and stems, which allows me to:

• Repel the sun's rays, reducing perspiration and, in this way, being able to resist the high summer temperatures.
• Prevent herbivores, such as the arruí, from eating my leaves.

To withstand the heat wave, the abrasive heat of summer, I detach part of my leaves to avoid losing water through evaporation, as I perspire through them; otherwise my survival would be seriously compromised.

In times of great scarcity, such as the period before and after the Spanish Civil War, my sheets were used as:

-A substitute for tobacco, an imported product that was within the reach of a privileged few. To do this, they were dried and pounded in a mortar.

- Scouring pads, mixing them with water and soil, to scrub paellas, frying pans...

-Substitute for the current "toilet paper" by shepherds and peasants, much softer than a stone.

hree types of infusions are prepared with my leaves that facilitate digestion.

If we boil 50 grams of leaves in a liter of red wine and then proceed to strain them, the resulting liquid is applied in the form of a poultice to wounds, sores, ulcers, as well as can be used to disinfect them and accelerate their healing.

My seeds are tiny and edible. They are found inside capsules and are highly prized by goats, the arruís, who travel to low mountain areas in search of the precious "treasure".

My flowers are very visited by all kinds of insects as they have abundant nectar.

I burn in the event of a fire very easily, but I scold myself quickly, as my seeds resist fire and the very high temperatures to which they are exposed.

Through my roots, a parasitic plant obtains the necessary nutrients for its development: honeysuckers, phyllosete (Cytinus hypophysitis). In Valencian it is called frare d'estepa.

Curiosities:

2. Harvesting and drying a plant for medicinal purposes:

• underdeveloped plants should not be CUT; nor are the ones that are scarce in the area.
• They are usually harvested during the flowering period or earlier, without the humidity of the night and before the hottest hours.
• We should never uproot the plant, we would be depleting it.
• To cut it, we will use pruning shears.
• We will not collect them in places that are contaminated: near roads, forest tracks, paths, cultivated terraces, etc.
• Only what is strictly necessary should be cut so that the remaining plant can recover.
• its TRANSPORT must be done in aerated containers, never use plastic bags.
• The bunches that are going to dry should not be too dense so that the air circulates inside.
• The thread that holds them must be made of cotton and must be loose, never tight, to prevent those parts from rotting due to lack of air.
• We will hang them for 10 to 20 days from the ceiling, upside down, in ventilated areas, without ambient humidity, with temperatures between 23-25 degrees Celsius. Never in direct sunlight and sheltered from dust and moisture.
• Once dried, the plant retains its medicinal properties for about a year.
• finally we will proceed to its PACKAGING, making sure that it does not present parasites. We will do it in glass jars hermetically sealed so that no air enters. We will label them with the name of the plant, date of harvest and date of packaging.
• We store it in a dry, cool place where it does not receive the sun's rays. We will monitor it from time to time to see if it is free of parasites (fungi, insects, etc.).
• Prepare an INFUSION: we will use stainless steel or fire-resistant glass containers. Once the water has been heated to boiling point, pour it into a porcelain cup with a lid or into a glass glass where the plant is deposited. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Strain the infusion with a cotton strainer (traditional coffee strainers). Stir it with a teaspoon. We can sweeten it with honey, panela; Never with white sugar.

Warning: if we do not follow these guidelines, your properties will be lost.