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 marmarolepis

Small, subtle, and irresistibly collectible, Helichrysum marmarolepis is a Sandveld annual that shines in the way the best miniatures do – quietly, but with intricate bract colour that rewards close viewing. It’s ideal for winter-rainfall annual displays, arid-themed pans, and collectors who like to grow unusual Namaqualand/W. Cape ephemerals from seed.

This is a rare South African endemic annual herb with a woody taproot, usually low and slender, with variable spathulate-to-linear leaves dusted in white wool. The heads are very small and carried in congested clusters; the bracts are especially pretty – outer bracts pale brown (sometimes reddish), with inner bracts showing opaque milk-white tips, often suffused pink or crimson. Flowering is mainly September and October.

It grows in Sandveld and is endemic to Namaqualand and the Western Cape, from around the Orange River south to Heeren Logement (north of Clanwilliam). For international growers, think “Namaqualand annual”: sow for cool-season growth, give sun, mineral sand, and restrained watering, and let it finish and set seed as conditions warm.