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 herniarioides (Gnaphalium indicum)

For growers who love small-scale gems, Helichrysum herniarioides offers a low, textural carpet of silvery foliage and compact heads that look like tiny, hand-crafted everlastings. It’s ideal for rock gardens, gravel beds, and arid-climate containers – especially where you want something that stays neat and close to the ground. It has also been noted as being eaten by stock in the veld, hinting at its role as a minor forage component in its natural range.

Indigenous to South Africa, this is an annual herb with a woody taproot, typically prostrate to low-ascending, forming many slender branches from the base. The small heads are clustered, and the bracts are characteristically white – often with red-brown tinges or occasional pink suffusion – creating a surprisingly intricate colour effect at close range.

Native to the more arid parts of the Cape and extending through Namaqualand into western Namibia, it thrives in open sandy or stony places, thorn scrub on sand, and even watercourses or depressions where moisture briefly collects. Flowering has been recorded from March to December, with peak display from July to September – excellent timing for winter-rainfall and semi-arid growers.