Labdanum, often called Labdanum gum is the resinous matter, which is derived from the plant Cistus Ladaniferus and other species of cistus by boiling the leaves and twigs of this plant in water. Labdanum is a natural oleoresin. It differs slightly from other oleoresins in the fact, that labdanum contains more waxes and less volatile oil than most of the other natural oleoresins. The plant grows wild in most countries around the Mediterranean Sea, but the production of labdanum is concentrated in Spain. The gum is skimmed off the surface of the water and mixed with other resinous matter, which sinks to the bottom of the boiling water. Smaller quantities of the gum are produced in Portugal, Morocco, Yugoslavia and Greece. It is a small shrub, the white flowers of which have only a very faint odor. The flowers as such are not exploited in perfumery. Labdanum gum is a dark brown, more or less solid mass. It may contain up to 20% water, but this should be either squeezed off or cautiously dried off the gum. When fresh, labdanum is plastic but not pourable. It becomes harder on ageing and may even become brittle. If it is brittle at room temperature, labdanum should be rejected as a starting material for the processing of labdanum derivatives.