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 rudolfii

For shrub collectors and lovers of silver foliage, Helichrysum rudolfii offers a strong, upright evergreen presence with crisp, papery heads packed into compact clusters – an excellent “backbone” everlasting for highland gardens. It’s also a satisfying species to grow because its natural habitat is so specific: rocky mountaintops where plants must be both tough and elegant.

This shrubby species can reach about 1 m, with greyish-white felted branches and rhomboid-elliptic to ovate leaves that remain softly woolly. The heads sit in cymose-corymbose clusters; the bracts are glossy with opaque white tips, and the flowers are yellow – classic everlasting contrast that works beautifully in both fresh and dried arrangements. Flowering is mainly April to June, though it may flower in almost any month under suitable conditions.

Globally, it’s endemic to South Africa’s Mpumalanga mountains, recorded from around Woodbush south to Elandshoogte near Machadodorp, growing among rocks on mountain tops. In cultivation, give it sun, sharp drainage, and a rocky/mineral soil; it’s well suited to cool nights and clear air, and it adapts nicely to containers where rainfall is high. Uses include ornamental shrub planting, dried everlasting harvest, and niche indigenous landscaping in South African highland regions and comparable climates internationally.