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Asteraceae
Lavender Cotton
Santolina chamaecyparissus
Protection and purification.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Santolina
- Native to
- Mediterranean region
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- evergreen shrub
- Height
- 1-2 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, poor to average, sandy
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 6-9
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Despite its common name, Lavender Cotton is neither a lavender nor a cotton plant, but a member of the daisy family.
- The strongly aromatic silver-gray foliage was historically used to repel moths from clothing, much like lavender sachets in wardrobes.
- It was a favorite edging plant in Elizabethan knot gardens, prized for its compact form that holds a tight, geometric shape when clipped.
- The button-like flower heads lack ray petals entirely, consisting only of tiny disc florets packed into a perfect half-inch sphere.
- Italian herbalists called it 'holy flax' and used it to treat intestinal worms, while French herbalists hung bundles in bedrooms to repel insects.
Color meanings
0
warding off pests
1
cleanliness