Cistus, with its many hybrids and cultivars, is commonly encountered as a garden flower. The common name rockrose is applied to the species, a name also shared by the related genera Halimium, Helianthemum and Tuberaria, all in the family Cistaceae. The common name gum cistus is applied to resin-bearing species, especially C. ladanifer.
Quasars are part of a class of objects known as active galactic nuclei (AGN). Other classes include Seyfert galaxies and blazars. All three require supermassive black holes to power them.
Even a very small telescope can show you an object called 3C273, a quasar in Virgo that is 3 billion light-years distant. But most objects that are interesting to look at aren't that far away. What you really want with a telescope is light-gathering power to see fainter things, not farther things.