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 fruticans (Gnaphalium fruticans) – Tall White Everlasting

If you’re after a bold, white everlasting that reads like a mountain shrub in flower, Helichrysum fruticans is a Cape Peninsula classic: tall, robust stems carrying big, snow-white heads in an airy branched display. It’s a beautiful cut-and-dry species, and it suits gardeners who want that unmistakable “everlasting” look with a clean, bright palette.

The plant is described as robust to about 1 m, with large bi-coloured leaves (thinly woolly above, densely woolly below). The heads are sizeable, with involucral bracts described as dull, snow-white and strongly radiating, while the flowers are carried in abundance within the head – classic “paper daisy” structure built for longevity.

It’s a rare endemic to the mountains of the Cape Peninsula, occurring on mountain slopes in the Fynbos Biome, and it flowers September to December. International growers in Mediterranean-type climates will find it happiest in sun, wind, and free-draining acidic fynbos-style mixes.