Cistus Essential Oil
Do you remember reading that phrase in the Song of Solomon ("I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys"). and picturing a rose?! I was shocked to learn that this is likely not a rose at all, but rather the flower ladanum or rock rose or commonly cistus (hence cistus essential oil!). Albert Barnes writes, "The etymology is in favor of its being a bulbous plant (the white narcissus, Conder). “Sharon” is usually the proper name of the celebrated plain from Joppa to Caesarea, between the hill-country and the sea, and travelers have remarked the abundance of flowers with which this plain is still carpeted in spring." [1] I love that it is a white flower - since white represents purity its more fitting for Christ then a red rose. The fact that this flower has a sweet, honey-like scent reminds…