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

See Examples For:

dusty miller

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

Look at him, just look at him, Looizy, sweating himself a day like this, over a common dusty miller.

From 'Way Down East A Romance of New England Life by Grismer, Joseph Rhode

"Dearie me," suddenly exclaimed the dusty miller, "how tired she looks," and he walked to the door.

From Puss Junior and Robinson Crusoe by Cory, David

Small insects of night gathered, and at last a little dusty miller, but nothing came of any size.

From A Girl of the Limberlost by Stratton-Porter, Gene