Re: Ptilostemon chamaespence

At 08:50 PM 6/9/00 -0700, anni jensen wrote:
>Does anyone out there know of this plant? I just know that it is a kind of
>thistle and that the seed came from Greece.
>Anni J.

Here is what Jacky Tyrwhitt says in Making a Garden on a Greek Hillside:

Ptilostemon chamaepeuce, Shrubby Ptilostemon, Maquis, rocky habitats, 50-100cm.
This 'false pine' is a shrub of the maquis and cliffs that is much more 
attractive in leaf, especially young leaf, than in flower.  The plant is a 
sort of shrubby centaurea.  Its flowers are like a pinkish thistle without 
spines but the leaves are quite different: they look like long pine needles 
and grow in tufted bunches.  The plant can grow to one metre high and two 
metres in diameter.
Editor Sally Razelou adds:
This is one of the most worthwhile shrubs to introduce into garden use in 
dry climates.  Its beautiful dark-green, linear leaves have white felted 
undersides and inrolled margins.  It is a spineless shrub whose shape is 
usually domed.  Its purple thistle-like flowers are borne in May on stalks 
up to 30cm in length and are not barbed.  The plants at Sparoza receive no 
water whatsoever.  It looks good all year round and the dried flower bracts 
are very beautiful.

Certainly sounds like a plant we need to try here in California, on 
well-drained soils with sunny exposure.

Sean O.




Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@groupmail.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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