Helichrysum
(an old Greek name used by Theophrastus; the latter part of the word, from chrysos, gold, refers to the colour of the flowers). Everlastings. SYN. Elichrysum. ORD. Compositae. A genus comprising 260 species of greenhouse or hardy, herbaceous or shrubby plants, natives, for the most part, of the Cape of Good Hope. Flower-heads large, solitary; involucral bracts scarious, not silvery, spreading or recurved, or clustered and small with incurved bracts; pappus rough or subplumose. Very few species are grown in our gardens. Helichrysums succeed best in a rich loamy soil, either when grown in pots or planted out. The annual species, and the varieties (of which there are a good number) of H. bracteatum, may be readily raised from seed, sown in a light heat, in March, and afterwards transplanted, or in the open ground at the latter end of that month. The greenhouse and half-hardy perennial species may be propagated by cuttings, inserted in spring, in a close frame, without much heat. Flowers that are intended for drying should be gathered when partially unfolded, and suspended with their heads downward in a cool shed. Any that are required to ripen seed must be allowed to remain on the plants until naturally developed.
H. apiculatum (small-pointed). fl.-heads yellow, in small clustered corymbs. h. 1 1/2ft. Australia, 1804. Plant covered with a silvery tomentum. Half-hardy perennial.
H. arenarium (sand-loving).* Yellow Everlasting. fl.-heads bright golden-yellow, disposed in a compound corymb. Summer. l. lanceolate, entire, stem-clasping, blunt and recurved at tips, with revolute edges; downy white on both surfaces. Stem upright, simple, downy. h. 6in. to 12in. Europe, 1739. Hardy herbaceous. The flowers of this species are very extensively used for decorative purposes, and are popularly known as Immortelles. They are also largely employed in the making of funeral wreaths, crosses, &c.
H. bracteatum (bracteate).* fl.-heads very various, solitary, terminal. August. l. lanceolate, entire. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Australia, 1799. Half-hardy annual. H. acuminatum, H. chrysanthum, and H. macrocephalum, are mere forms of this species.
H. b. aureum (golden). fl-heads golden-yellow.
H. b. bicolor (two-coloured). fl.-heads yellow. August. l. linear-lanceolate, acuminate, obtuse at the base, roughly ciliated; upper ones subulate. 1835. (B. R. 1814.)
H. b. compositum (compound) is a fine "double" strain, with various-coloured flower-heads.
H. b. macranthum (large-flowered). fl.-heads white, rose coloured outside. (B. R. 1838, 58.)
H. b. niveum (snowy).* fl.-heads white, yellow, large, solitary, terminal; scales of involucre white, conniving, ovate, mucronate. June. 1838. (B. M. 3857.)
H. buphthalmoides (Buphthalmum-like). A synonym of H. scorpioides. H. ericaefolium (Health-leaved). fl.-heads, outer involucre rough; inner flesh-coloured. March to August. l. sessile, linear. h. 1 1/2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1774. Greenhouse shrub. (B.M. 435, under name of Gnaphalium ericoides.)
H. felinum (feline). fl.-heads purple. May and June. l. lanceolate, sessile, three-nerved, naked above, woolly beneath. h. 3ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1791. Greenhouse shrub. (B. R 243, under name of Gnaphalium congestum.)
H. foetidum (foetid). fl.-heads light yellow. June to September. l. amplexicaul, entire, acute, downy beneath. Stem branched. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1692. Greenhouse herb. (B. M. 1987, under name of Gnaphalium foetidum.)
H. frigidum (frigid). fl.-heads silvery white, about 1/2in. in diameter. May. l. small, silky-hairy. h. 3in. Corsica, 1879. Plant elegant with decumbent branches. Half-hardy. (B. M. 6515.)
H. grandiflorum (large-flowered). fl.-heads white; corymb stalked; involucre cylindrical. June to August. l. amplexicaul, ovate-oblong, three-nerved, woolly above. h. 3ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1731. Greenhouse sub-shrub. (A. B. R. 489, under name of Gnaphalium grandiflorum.)
H. graveolens (strong-scented). fl.-heads yellow, small, disposed in clusters. l. linear, sessile. Tauria, 1877. Plant woolly, half-hardy, herbaceous. (R. G. 889.)
H. Gunnii (Gunn's). A synonym of H. scorpioides.
H. Mannii (Mann's). fl. globose, 1in. across, numerous, disposed in a large convex umbel, 6in. to 8in. across, at the summit of the stem; involucre white, of numerous closely imbricated scales; disk-florets innumerable, bright yellow; pappus hairs slightly thickened upwards. September. l. close placed, spreading, lanceolate, acuminate, slightly tortuose. Stem brown, woody, naked below, becoming gradually herbaceous, and clothed with leaves upwards. h. 2ft. or more (in cultivation). Fernando Po and Cameroons, 1863. Greenhouse shrub. (B. M. 5431.) H. plicatum (folded). fl.-heads white, corymbose, large. l. narrow, tapering into a long stalk. Macedonia, 1877. Plant woolly, forming prostrate, spreading, greyish tufts. An excellent hardy herbaceous plant for clothing dry, stony banks. (R. G. 889.)
H. scorpioides (scorpion-like). fl.-heads, involucre broadly hemispherical; bracts very numerous, the outer ones short, often tinged with brown, passing into the intermediate ones, of a bright yellow, usually narrow. l. from oblong-spathulate to linear, mostly acute, glabrous or scabrous above, loosely woolly underneath, the upper ones few and small. Stem ascending or erect, usually simple, often exceeding 1ft., and rather weak. Australia, 1838. Greenhouse herbaceous perennial. SYNS. H. buphthalmoides, H. Gunnii.
H. Stoechas. Goldy-locks. fl-heads yellow, corymbose, crowded, shortly stalked. Summer. l. sessile, linear, obtuse, silvery underneath. Stems branching, spreading, covered with silvery down. h. 1ft. South Europe, 1629. Hardy evergreen sub-shrub.