"Lamb's ear is a popular silver-leaved herbaceous perennial ground cover in the Lamiaceae or mint family. The plant grows into a dense clump of thick, soft, velvety, silver-green leaves that form a low-spreading groundcover. They are evergreen in warmer climates. In summer, tiny, purplish-pink flowers appear. Lamb's ear is a native to the rocky hills of Turkey, Armenia, and Iran. The genus name, Stachys, is Greek and comes from a word meaning ""ear of corn."" The epithet, byzantine, means ""of classical Byzantine."" Lamb's ear grows well in average, dry to medium, very well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. Avoid overwatering as wet leaves invite disease, as do high humidity summers. The plant likes some afternoon shade, particularly in the hot summer. It spreads by stems rooting at the nodes and can be aggressive in good conditions. Division of the plant may be required about every 2 to 4 years. The plant is deer resistant and moderately drought tolerant once established. The leaves are densely white-woolly and oblong to elliptical. They emit a scent when crushed. The flowers are small tubular, 2-lipped, and appear in white woolly upright spikes. In Brazil it is used as an edible herb, called peixinho-da-horta prepared battered and deep-fried sprinkled with lemon juice and said to taste fish-like. It has sometimes been used as a medicinal plant.
The soft, fuzzy leaves make an excellent addition to a children's or sensory garden.  Plant it along a border front or walkway, or it may also be grown in containers. Consider planting Lamb's ear on a hill or slope in hot humid areas to prevent root rot."