What do you smell these days on the Adriatic coast?

A walk around Kamenjak in Croatia always makes my nose really itch. In the best possible way. A step to the left can mean the spicy scent of immortelle, and again to the right the sweet, musky and herbal scent of something that awakens very special memories in me. You never forget that smell. For several years now since my experience with it, I have been chasing traces of it in the air, especially in May, when I go on long walks around this beautiful cape and crunch all sorts of leaves between my fingers to find out what actually creates this characteristic smell, aroma, or which variety contributes the most to it.

You know it because it's the scent that promises summer, which intensifies as temperatures rise and lingers in the air long after the plant has shed all its flowers.

You can smell it on the parched, sun-exposed, and poor rocky soils all along the Adriatic coast and much further afield. But let's stay here, where most of us spend at least part of our free days each year.

I'm not a huge fan of summers on the Croatian coast, so I spend my days here on a quieter note. When the beaches are still empty, when nature is peaceful and green, and the temperatures are more "workable," there's peace and a colorful palette of scents in the air.

Upper Kamenjak (photo: personal archive)

If you are not an aroma enthusiast or have not yet discovered this love within yourself, I am sharing with you my insights about the plant I love so much; the brškina.

Why him?

Years ago, on one of our family trips, we took a detour into the interior of Portugal, following a recommendation, where we had the opportunity to harvest and distill cistus in picturesque and idyllic surroundings.

Cistus distillation in Portugal

The owners of the distillery, Marju and Marko, left their home and well-paid jobs in Lisbon and moved with their family to the northeast of Portugal, where they bought an old mill next to a crystal-clear spring and converted it into a distillery.

Mill by the stream, Portugal (photo: personal archive)

We drove through citrus groves in Marko's tractor into the forest, where countless Cistus Ladanifer L. bushes flourish as undergrowth.

Orange and lemon trees (photo: personal archive)

Cistus harvest, Portugal (photo: personal archive)

A musky, sharp, sweet, spicy, herbal scent filled the room as the first drops flowed into the separator. Suddenly my son, then a mischievous ten-year-old, turns to me and exclaims: “Mom, this is just like your perfume!”

It's true, labdanum, a resin secreted by all parts of the Cistus Ladanifer plant as a defense mechanism against high temperatures, is found in the form of an absolute in my favorite perfume, the iconic Chanel No. 5. This is just a reminder of how sharp children's noses are and how good it is to train them at an early age, as they perceive nuances that we adults can hardly do without special training.

I still have a bottle of brškina essential oil and its hydrolate, both of which are still in great shape. In fact, they seem to have improved over the years, so they still serve as a great source of memories and daydreams ;).

Cistus Ladanifer is found in several forms of extracts. The most common extraction process is steam distillation of the whole plant, which yields essential oil and hydrolate.

The third form is the absolute, which is obtained from a resin called labdanum. The absolute also has the same name. While the first two are used in aromatherapy and natural cosmetics (astringent and antimicrobial action), labdanum is today valued as a base and base note in natural and conventional perfumery, as it gives perfumes depth, sweetness and a leathery, ambery scent. 

Cistus Ladanifer or labdanum and labdanum are therefore not one and the same!

Brškin on the Adriatic

Something similar, only gentler and less intense, tempts and teases me on my walks around Kamenjak. I know that Brškin also grows on the Adriatic, but I never knew much about the varieties growing here. Croatian sources list three, two of which I caught on camera this year so that I could later identify them and finally research which one gives off this characteristic Mediterranean scent.

Literature says that the following thrive along the Adriatic coast: 

Cistus salviifolius (sage-leaved rockrose)

Cistus monspeliensis (narrow-leaved or sticky rockrose or sticky bush)

Cistus  x incanus; also Cistus creticus  (gray brškin or pink bushin, wild wormwood hr. )

Cistus monspeliensis (photo: personal archive)

Cistus  x incanus (photo: personal archive)

The latter two varieties also grow on Kamenjak near Pula, but labdanum (in addition to Cistus ladanifer, which grows on the northern coast of Africa and in the western Mediterranean) is only produced by Cistus creticus , and hence the intoxicating scents that will only intensify with more sunlight and rising temperatures. 

Cistus have therapeutic properties and are known for their beneficial effects. Although their aromas are milder, essential oils from varieties that grow in our neighbors have also been well studied. You can read about the phytochemical and antimicrobial properties of individual cistus varieties here. The latest research attributes very good antiviral properties to cistus, and they are also full of flavonoids, which are known for their anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anti-tumor properties.

A study comparing the effects of C. incanus and C. ladanifer extracts indicates the extremely beneficial effects of different Cistus varieties on skin health and appearance; both have exceptional antioxidant properties, inhibit tyrosinase activity (increased concentrations of this enzyme can lead to melanoma) and have UV protection potential. We will certainly hear a lot more about rockrose in natural cosmetics in the future.

Preparing bramble tea

Pick leaves and flowers in nice and sunny weather!

Dry both in a shady and airy place. Crush the dried herb and pour approx. 3 g (1 tablespoon) with 1/2 liter of boiling water. After 5 minutes, strain the tea and drink it fresh. If you are going to add honey to the tea, let the tea cool to 40 degrees.

Tea strengthens the immune system and increases its resistance. There are already promising studies showing its antibacterial effects, as daily rinsing of the mouth with brškina tea reduces bacterial colonization.

The Brškin flower blooms here from April to the end of June, hurry up and stock up on Mediterranean herbs in your home pharmacy!

Until next time,

Daria