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Evergreen sub-shrub of the Asteraceae family, the cotton lavender is native to the western Mediterranean basin, mainly from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France, where it colonizes garrigues, dry rocky slopes, limestone screes, and sunny embankments, in poor and perfectly drained terrain.
It forms rounded and dense bushes, with woody stems at the base, reaching 30 to 50 cm in height. The foliage is its most immediately striking feature: the leaves are very finely cut into small rounded segments tightly packed along the axis, giving them an absolutely characteristic coral-like or coralloid appearance, from silvery-white to intense silvery-gray, due to a dense tomentose covering. The entire tuft emits a strong camphor-like aroma at the slightest touch.
The flowers are small globular capitula, entirely tubular, bright yellow, borne singly on long erect peduncles. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August. In cultivation, it generally occurs in July.
It requires very well-drained, poor, calcareous or sandy soil, in full sun exposure, and withstands summer drought without difficulty. It does not tolerate heavy and wet soils in winter. A light pruning after flowering maintains the compactness of its habit. Historically used extensively as a repellent against moths and insects, it remains a particularly resilient wall and rock garden plant.