Lavender Cotton                san-to-LEEN-a ka-mie-sip-pa-RIS-is

• Herbaceous evergreen shrublet, erect or ascending, 1-2 ft (30-60 cm) high, greater width, thick, spreading mound, fine texture.  Leaves alternate, pinnately compound (very tiny leaflets), silver-green to gray-green, 2-4 cm long, narrow (1.3 mm wide), highly aromatic when crushed.  Flowers yellow, button-like, 13 mm wide, rise above the foliage on 10-15 cm stalks, bloom in June, showy.   Fruit a brown pod, 13 mm, unattractive.
• Sun, tolerant of any well-drained soil, grows in climate regions from the coast to the desert. Does not respond well to frequent watering.  Can be sheared.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7      Native to southern Europe, cultivated at least from 1596.   Several cultivar developed, some are smaller forms, e.g., ‘Nana’, to 1 ft (30 cm); ‘Pretty Carol’, to 16 inches (40 cm).
• Santolina: from sanctum linum, holy flax, the old name for S. virens.   chamaecyparissus: from the Greek, chamai: dwarf, kuparissos: cypress
• Corvallis: northeast corner of Central Park.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: south side of Callahan (dorm).