This parasitic plant with a Mediterranean-Macaronesian distribution is present in all regions of Southern Italy, in the Islands, and in Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany, Liguria, Lombardy and Veneto. It grows in the Mediterranean garrigues, on acidic soils, as a parasite of species of Cistus , but sometimes also of other Cistaceae. The species is sporadic on the edge of the Sardinian temporary ponds, in contact with garrigues dominated by Cistus. The genus name derives from the Greek word 'kýtinos, -ou', that Theophrastus used to designate the buds of the pomegranate; Dioscorides wrote of a plant that 'comes attached to the roots of Cistus and looks like the pomegranate flower'; the species name comes from the Greek 'hypo' (below) and from the Latin 'cistus' (Cistus) and means 'growing under a Cistus'. Flowering period: April to May.

Italian name(s): Ipocistide (Toscana), Ipocisto (Toscana), Ipocisto comune (Italia), Ippocistide (Toscana), Lupa di rusedda (Sicilia), Mucchignero (Sardegna), Rusedda rizza (Sicilia).