It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas.
The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles and grasshoppers visit the flower heads. The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs. In Australia, many cultivars are perennial shrubs, which have become popular garden plants. Sturdier, long-stemmed forms are used commercially in the cut flower industry.
Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!
If you link your post here, it is common courtesy to show a link back to this site on your blog post...
could you send me this little sun please? My world is so grey nowadays.
ReplyDeleteAnd to me too! Tom The Backroads Traveller
ReplyDeleteI have seen those in South Africa too!
ReplyDeleteLovely! Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteVery nice picture!
ReplyDeleteWe have a small kind of this in Germany too (helicrysum bracteatum), we use it often for dry bukets. I have a plant in a pot (outdoor).
We all want to have this beautiful "sunflower".
ReplyDeleteWow, that would be a great word for the X of the alphabet!
ReplyDeleteThese and bougainvillea amaze me because they feel as if they were fake flowers made of paper. I also like these strawflowers because they are, as their nickname suggests, "everlasting." Great choice to showcase for a cold and dark week ahead, Nick.
ReplyDeleteSuch a brilliantly sharp image. Perfect for those pointy petals!
ReplyDeleteI love these sunny flowers ♥
ReplyDeleteHave a nice Friday
moni
I reckon snails and slugs leave these stiff flowers alone. Another reason to grow them.
ReplyDeletePretty yellow flower! First time I saw them I thought they were fake :) I'm a little to late to link here since I been working on my kind-of-big post to show off all that I have blooming for November.
ReplyDeleteSo nice of you to post one of our wildflowers. I adore them lighting up strange places in our country from the highest mountain to the driest deserts.
ReplyDeleteThis really shines out like a tiny sun! Beautiful!
ReplyDelete