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 junodii

If you want a truly “showpiece” everlasting, Helichrysum junodii is a stunner: silvery foliage plus large, solitary heads with dramatic bract colour. It’s the kind of plant collectors grow for the moment it flowers – and it also lends itself to ornamental use in dried form thanks to the persistent papery bracts.

This is a rare, range restricted South African endemic low-growing woody shrub with grey, hairy linear leaves. The heads are big and solitary at branchlet tips, with outer bracts described as rich glossy rose-pink (often with a brown overcast on the outermost) and inner bracts white, surrounding yellow florets – an exceptional colour combination for the genus.

Known only from mountains between the Wolkberg and The Downs in Limpopo, it grows among rock outcrops in grassland. Flowering is recorded April to July, making it a valuable autumn-to-winter highlight for South African and international growers with cool-season conditions.