Definition

1. Noun:
   • A common name for several different plants: "dusty miller" is a colloquial name used for various plant species, primarily those with silvery-grey, woolly, or "dusty"-looking foliage that resembles flour dust, akin to the clothing of a miller.
   • Key characteristic: The name consistently refers to plants whose leaves and sometimes stems are covered in fine, white or greyish hairs, giving them a soft, felt-like, dusty, or frosted appearance.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The border was edged with dusty miller, its silver leaves contrasting beautifully with the red geraniums.
  • She added dusty miller to her container garden for its unique texture and color.
  • Several different species are sold under the name dusty miller at the garden center.

Advanced Usage

• As a descriptive term: The name "dusty miller" is often used more for the visual characteristic (silvery foliage) than for a single specific botanical species. It is a horticultural common name.
  • For that 'moon garden' effect, combine white flowers with plants like dusty miller and lamb's ear.

Variants and Related Words

• Jacobaea maritima / Senecio cineraria: A very common plant specifically called dusty miller, known for its deeply lobed, silvery-white leaves.
• Centaurea cineraria / Centaurea gymnocarpa: Another plant often called dusty miller, with more finely dissected, lacy silver foliage.
• Lychnis coronaria: A short-lived perennial sometimes called dusty miller or rose campion, featuring woolly grey leaves and bright magenta flowers.
• Artemisia stelleriana: A beach-loving perennial with silvery, lobed leaves that is also known as dusty miller or beach wormwood.

Synonyms

• Silver ragwort (for ).
• Silver dust (a common cultivar name).
• Cineraria (though this can also refer to a different flowering plant).

Notes on Meaning

• The term "dusty miller" is not scientifically precise. It is a common name applied to multiple species from different genera that share a similar aesthetic trait: densely hairy, silver-grey foliage.
• Its primary meaning in gardening and horticulture is an ornamental foliage plant valued for its color and texture, often used as an accent, in borders, or in container arrangements.
• The reference to "showy crimson flowers" in some definitions applies specifically to one species, such as , but many plants sold as dusty miller are grown primarily for their leaves, and flowers are often pinched off to maintain foliage appearance.

Noun

1. an old cottage garden plant of southeastern Europe widely cultivated for its attractive white woolly foliage and showy crimson flowers
2. herb with greyish leaves found along the east coast of North America; used as an ornamental plant
3. a plant having leaves and stems covered with down that resembles dust
4. stiff much-branched perennial of the Mediterranean region having very white woolly stems and leaves
5. shrubby perennial of the Canary Islands having white flowers and leaves and hairy stems covered with dustlike down; sometimes placed in genus Chrysanthemum