dusty miller

American  

noun

1. Botany.

   1. any of several composite plants, as Centaurea cineraria, Senecio cineraria, or the beach wormwood, having pinnate leaves covered with whitish pubescence.

   2. rose campion.

2. Angling. a type of artificial fly used chiefly for trout and salmon.

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dusty miller British  

noun

1. Also called: snow-in-summer.  a caryophyllaceous plant, Cerastium tomentosum, of SE Europe and Asia, having white flowers and downy stems and leaves: cultivated as a rock plant

2. a plant, Artemisia stelleriana, of NE Asia and E North America, having small yellow flower heads and downy stems and leaves: family Asteraceae (composites)

3. any of various other downy plants, such as the rose campion

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Etymology

Origin of dusty miller

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Here, they can wander among scarecrows and jack-o’-lanterns, investigate a Victorian playhouse, pot up a ghostly-looking dusty miller plant to take home and put on a show with insect and owl puppets.

From New York Times • Oct. 10, 2019

Lucy and I had both a fight for it with the dusty miller; I know it was a hard fight on my part, and I am quite heroic.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

The dusty miller was scratching his head in puzzled wonder at just the minute Dick arrived on the scene.

From Dick the Bank Boy Or, A Missing Fortune by Webster, Frank V.

Puss rubbed his eyes and listened: "If I had my pockets Full of gold and siller, I would give it all To my dusty miller."

From Puss in Boots, Jr., and the Good Gray Horse by Cory, David

Margaret wrote a letter, Sealed it with her finger, Threw it in the dam For the dusty miller.

From Puss in Boots, Jr., and the Good Gray Horse by Cory, David