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 kraussii (Helichrysum steetzii) – Straw Everlasting; Sewejaartjie

Often known by names like Straw Everlasting / sewejaartjie (with several regional names recorded), Helichrysum kraussii is a workhorse species for gardeners and collectors: fragrant, tough, and wide-ranging. Beyond ornamental use, the broader South African Helichrysum tradition includes incense, perfume, and medicinal applications, especially in aromatic species – so this is a meaningful species for ethnobotany-minded growers too.

Indigenous to South Africa, it’s a bushy, aromatic shrublet up to about 1 m tall, with narrow, inrolled leaves that are bicoloured (green above, white-felted below). The heads are tiny but produced in great numbers in dense clusters, with glossy pale lemon-yellow to straw-coloured bracts and pale yellow florets – more of a soft haze than a single bold bloom.

This species is widespread in south tropical Africa, recorded from southern Angola through Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, and in South Africa across several provinces, reaching its southern limit around coastal KwaZulu-Natal south of Durban. Flowering is noted from June to September, giving winter colour when many grassland plants are resting.