2 New Books ** Edible Plants: An inspirational guide to choosing and growing unusual edible plants and Woodland Gardening (Forest) [Paperback]. more >>
Search Page Content
   Bookmark and Share
   
    By donating to PFAF, you can help support and expand our activities
    Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List
Santolina chamaecyparissus - L.                
                 
Common Name Cotton Lavender
Family Asteraceae or Compositae
Synonyms S. incana.
Known Hazards The bruised leaves have been known to cause a severe rash on sensitive skins[182].
Habitats Dry ground, stony banks and rocks[100], usually on calcareous soils[7].
Range Europe - Mediterranean. Occasionally naturalized in Britain[17].
Edibility Rating  
Medicinal Rating  
Care
Fully Hardy Well drained soil Moist Soil Full sun

Summary       

Physical Characteristics       
 icon of manicon of shrub
Santolina chamaecyparissus is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in).
It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from Jul to August, and the seeds ripen from Aug to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.


Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Santolina chamaecyparissus Cotton Lavender


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Stan_Shebs
Santolina chamaecyparissus Cotton Lavender
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Digigalos
   
Habitats       
Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Ground Cover; Hedge; Cultivated Beds; East Wall. In. South Wall. In. West Wall. In.
Edible Uses                                         
Edible Parts:
Edible Uses: Condiment.

The aromatic leaves are used as a flavouring for broths, sauces, grain dishes etc[15, 183].
Medicinal Uses


Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antispasmodic;  Disinfectant;  Emmenagogue;  Stings;  Vermifuge.

The leaves and flowering tops are antispasmodic, disinfectant, emmenagogue, stimulant and vermifuge[4, 7, 11, 201]. Cotton lavender is rarely used medicinally[238], though it is sometimes used internally as a vermifuge for children and to treat poor digestion and menstrual problems[4, 238]. When finely ground and applied to insect stings or bites, the plant will immediately ease the pain[7]. Applied to surface wounds, it will hasten the healing process by encouraging the formation of scar tissue[7]. The leaves and flowering stems are harvested in the summer and dried for later use[238].
Other Uses
Disinfectant;  Dye;  Essential;  Hedge;  Hedge;  Pot-pourri;  Repellent.

Plants can be grown as a low formal hedge and used as an edging plant[200]. The plant is very tolerant of shearing[200]. In less exposed areas the plants can be trimmed in the autumn, otherwise they need to be cut by early April if they are to be allowed to flower[245]. Plants can also be grown for ground cover[190]. They are best spaced about 60cm apart each way[208]. The leaves are strewn amongst clothes to repel moths etc[4, 15, 18, 20, 100]. The growing plant repels various insect pests, especially cabbage moths[201]. The dried leaves are used in pot-pourri[238]. An essential oil from the leaves is used in perfumery[4], the oil is also obtained from the flowers[168].
Cultivation details                                         
An easy and undemanding plant that does not require a rich soil, though it strongly dislikes wet conditions around the roots[1, 11, 15, 200]. Prefers a light sandy fairly poor soil on a sunny slope[200]. Prefers a chalky soil[190]. Established plants are drought tolerant[190]. They succeed in a hot dry position[190]. Hardy to about -15°c when in a well-drained soil. A very wind hardy plant, it succeeds on the top of Cornish dry-stone walls[49]. A very ornamental plant[1], there are several named varieties[245]. Cotton lavender tolerates shearing so long as this is not done at times of low resistance (winter?)[200]. Plants can be cut back hard in spring to maintain their form[200, 208], though this will prevent them flowering[208]. A good companion plant for roses[201]. Flowers are produced on two year old wood[182]. The leaves are very aromatic[190]. The bruised leaves are pleasantly pungent, though the flowers have an unpleasant smell[245]. The form S. chamaecyparissus nana has a more pungent aroma than the type[245]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
                                                                                 
Propagation                                         
Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. Does not require pre-treatment[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe side shoots, 5 - 8 cm long with a heel, July/August in a frame. Roots within 2 weeks. High percentage[78]. The heeled cuttings can also be placed direct into the open garden in early July and should be well-rooted by the winter[245]. Division in spring or autumn[111]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer. Layering.
Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List

      You can download this page as a PDF

Expert comment                                         
 
      
Author                                         
L.
                                                                                 
Botanical References                                         
11100200
                                                                                 
Links / References                                         

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7]Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants.
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[11]Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement.
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
[15]Bryan. J. and Castle. C. Edible Ornamental Garden.
A small book with interesting ideas for edible plants in the ornamental garden.
[18]Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants.
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
[20]Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening.
Fairly good.
[49]Arnold-Forster. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
Trees and shrubs that grow well in Cornwall and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.
[78]Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers.
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
[100]Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide.
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
[111]Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials.
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
[113]Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation.
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
[168]Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants.
A very good and readable book on dyeing.
[182]Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos.
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[190]Chatto. B. The Dry Garden.
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[201]Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting.
A well produced and very readable book.
[208]Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.
[238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[245]Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World.
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers comment                                         
 
Elizabeth H.
santosh patil Tue Jan 8 2008
hello sir is it regeneration protocol is there for santolina for its in-vitro regeneration
QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.
1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.
2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.
3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.
Rate This Plant                                         
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.
     
                                                                                 
Add a comment/link                                         

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

Subject : Santolina chamaecyparissus  
             

Links To add a link to another website with useful info add the details here
Name of Site
URL of Site
Details

                                        
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
   
 

All the information contained in these pages is Copyright (C) Plants For A Future, 1996-2012.
Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567,
Web Design & Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Some information cannot be used for commercial reasons or be modified (but some can). Please view the copyright link for more information.