Cistus labdanum is a shrub that grows wild in a wide area of the Mediterranean basin. This species of Cistus is remarkable for the gum that it secretes in the summer to protect itself against the intense heat.
Labdanum gum has been harvested for 3,000 years and is one of the mythical ingredients of the incenses of ancient perfumery. Originally produced in the eastern Mediterranean region (Crete, Cyprus, etc.), today labdanum gum continues to be produced in Spain (300 to 350 tons per year) using traditional, non-industrial processes.

Since the nineteen-sixties, the distillation and extraction of Cistus twigs have been greatly developed for the production of Cistus derivatives (essential oil and absolute) and various derivatives of the gum (resinoids and absolutes).
Cistus is harvested by sickle during the summer months from large extensions. The main producing region is in the Andevalo region of Huelva province (western Andalusia). The gum is also produced in Extremadura and the essential oil in Morocco and Portugal.
Biolandes Andalucia has been operating in Andevalo (Puebla de Guzman) since 1988, producing locally a complete range of Cistus derivatives and labdanum gum, derived from a harvest of 3,000 tons of Cistus wood per year. A large part of this harvest is certified organic (Ecocert EC / NOP) as a result of Biolandes Andalucia's long-term efforts in the selective development of certain plots of land.