Cytinus hypocistis is an ant-pollinated[4] species of parasitic plant in the family Cytinaceae having four subspecies.

It is found primarily in locations that surround the Mediterranean Sea,[5] and is the type for the genus Cytinus.

[6] Cytinus hypocistis is native to Albania; Algeria; Crete; Croatia; Cyprus; Greece; France (including Corsica); Israel; Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily); Lebanon; Libya; Malta; Morocco; Portugal; Spain (including both the Balearic and Canary Islands); Syria; Tunisia; and Turkey.

[5] The subspecies macranthus is native to Portugal and western Spain; orientalis is native to southern Greece and Crete; and pityusensis is endemic to Ibiza of the Balearic Islands.

[2] Cytinus hypocistis has been used in traditional medicine to treat dysentery and tumors of the throat, and has been used for its astringent qualities.