Hoary alison’s scientific name comes from the stellate hairs that cover the plant and give it its colour (incanus means grey), but despite its rather drab colour it is sometimes grown in Finland as an ornamental. The plant has adapted to grow this covering of hair to help it survive in very dry climates: the hairs retain raindrops and dewdrops well and reduce evaporation. Hoary allargen’s quite wide, grey stands are apt to catch people’s eyes, even if they are not into flowers: it blooms for a relatively long time into the summer and the seeds do not fall until winter.
