Cotton weed plant

''Otanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the chamomile tribe within the daisy family . The only known species is the cotton weed plant, ''Otanthus maritimus''. It is a small pioneering perennial that grows in the dune areas throughout the Mediterranean and exerts a stabilizing action on the sandy soils. A thick white down covers both the stems and the small oval, slightly saw-toothed alternate leaves. The globose flower heads, with their short peduncles, are composed of an envelope of white-wooly scales around tubular yellow flowers that are visible from June through to September. The generic name is derived from the Greek words otos and anthos . This refers to the form of the corolla, which is composed of three membranous bracts that create a profile similar to that of a human ear.