The leaves are larger than in the other species of Cistus, up to 9 cm (4 in) long, lanceolate, dark green, while the underside is whitish due to trichomes.

[5] Cistus laurifolius has a disjunct natural distribution throughout the Mediterranean Basin, being found west in Morocco, Iberia (Portugal, Spain), avoiding the wetter climate in the northwest, southern France, Corsica and Tuscany (Italy), and east in Greece and Anatolia.

[4] With the general warming of the atmosphere and the consequent withdrawal of glacial ice, flora surviving from Tertiary times could not re-establish their range in southern Europe;[clarification needed] the new post-glacial climate was drier than that of the Tertiary.

[6][7][8] The distribution of some surviving species, such as Cistus laurifolius, shifted to wetter areas, such as the mountains.

[8] Due to this, C. laurifolius is named in Spanish in its distribution area as "mountain rockrose",[8] although in the moister coastal west and northwest Iberian Peninsula, it is found at sea level.