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 melanacme (Helichrysum kuntzei, Helichrysum pullulum) – Tawny Everlasting; Hottentotskooigoed

If you want a mountain everlasting that looks wild, wiry, and authentic – something that blends perfectly into grassland-style plantings – Helichrysum melanacme is an excellent pick. It’s also appealing to ethnobotanical collectors because Helichrysum species are widely recorded for traditional medicinal and ritual use in southern Africa, even when a particular species hasn’t become “the famous one” in trade.

This is a tufted South African indigenous perennial herb or subshrub with wiry stems that can root as they sprawl, then rise to around 500 mm. It carries small, branched inflorescences with relatively few heads; the bracts are tawny to straw-toned with crisped tips, creating a warm, dry-gold look rather than bright lemon yellow. Flowering is recorded from December to April.

It forms large tangled clumps on grassy mountain slopes and near forest margins, ranging broadly across southern African highlands: from parts of the Karoo/Great Escarpment through the Drakensberg and outliers in Lesotho, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, into the low Drakensberg on the KZN–Mpumalanga border, and western Eswatini, with some Highveld records too. Grow it in sun to open shade, with summer moisture and excellent drainage – it’s happiest where mountain grassland conditions can be approximated.