There’s a reason Helichrysum has earned names like “everlasting,” “strawflower,” and “golden immortelle.” Across Africa, Eurasia, Madagascar, and even parts of Australia, this remarkable genus has adapted into an astonishing range of forms – from compact alpine cushions on windswept peaks to sprawling coastal pioneers on dunes, and tall, aromatic shrubs rising through savanna grassland. Many species seem almost sculpted for harshness: felted leaves that reflect heat, resinous scent glands that reduce water loss, and papery bracts that hold their colour long after flowering.

In southern Africa especially, Helichrysum becomes a signature of wild landscapes. Some species carpet high Drakensberg slopes like silver mats; others form tidy, upright tufts in montane grassland; and some are so specialised that they cling to cliff faces or root into shallow pockets of stony soil. The flowers, often arranged in tight button-clusters or open daisy-like heads, glow in tones of yellow, cream, white, pink, copper, red, and rose – and in many species the “petals” are actually brilliantly coloured bracts that preserve their beauty even when dried.

Beyond their ornamental appeal, Helichrysum carries deep cultural importance. Many species are traditionally used for fragrance, medicinal preparations, ceremonial burning, and as protective plants. For modern growers, they offer the irresistible combination of wild provenance, drought resilience, and striking textures – a true collector’s genus, equally suited to naturalistic gardens, rockeries, alpine troughs and habitat restoration planting.

Helichrysum alticolum (Helichrysum alticola)

For alpine and high-mountain collectors, this mat-former is pure treasure: tight, silver-grey cushions that cling to rock and read like living felt against stone. It’s a natural candidate for troughs, crevice gardens, and high-drainage rockwork where compact texture matters as much as flowering.

It forms big mats from stoloniferous growth, with rosetted, woolly leaves and compact terminal head clusters with bright canary-yellow bracts. It can flower in spring, but more often blooms in late summer to autumn, mainly February to April (sometimes September–October).

In nature it’s found on cliff faces, rock platforms, or stony ground at roughly 1,900–3,200 m, recorded from northern Lesotho (including the Mont aux Sources area) along the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg south to Loteni, with a disjunction to the Katberg Pass area (Eastern Cape). For growers abroad: replicate “cold, bright, dry-root” conditions – excellent drainage, full sun, and minimal summer humidity.