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