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 uninervium

If you love everlastings with a “mountain-wild” look, Helichrysum uninervium brings a fine-textured, airy presence to sunny beds and rockwork, with open branching sprays that glow yellow when in peak colour. It’s the kind of plant that looks delicate at a glance, yet comes from tough, rocky country and carries a woody base that helps it persist.

Stems rise from a stout, woody caudex and are thinly grey-felted, with small elliptic leaves. The flowerheads sit in corymbose panicles; bracts start off with reddish outer tones and mature into bright yellow, giving you a shifting, two-tone display across the season. Flowering has been recorded in July, October and December, with July likely the main month.

Naturally it favours rocky sites and is a Limpopo–Mpumalanga–Gauteng endemic, recorded from ranges including the Wolkberg area, Pilgrim’s Rest, Waterberg and the Witwatersrand. In cultivation it suits full sun and sharp drainage, and the papery bracts also lend themselves to small-scale dried arrangements – a classic everlasting use.