The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the sunflower family (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

). The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''

Helichrysum orientale ''Helichrysum orientale'', also known as everlasting and immortelle, is the type species for the genus ''Helichrysum''. It is a native of North Africa, Crete, and parts of Asia bordering on the Mediterranean. It is cultivated in many parts of E ...

''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The name is derived from the Anicent Greek words (helios, sun) and (, gold). It occurs in Africa (with 244 species in South Africa), Madagascar, Australasia and Eurasia. The plants may be annuals, herbaceous

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s, growing to a height of . The genus was a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

, and many of its members have been reclassified in smaller genera, most notably the Everlastings, now in the genus ''

Xerochrysum ''Xerochrysum'' ( syn. ''Bracteantha'') is a genus of flowering plants native to Australia. It was defined by Russian botanist Nikolai Tzvelev in 1990, preceding (and taking precedence over) ''Bracteantha'' which was described the following year ...

''. Their

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are oblong to lanceolate. They are flat and pubescent on both sides. The bristles of the pappus are scabrous, barbellate, or plumose. The receptacle (''base of the flower head'') is often smooth, with a fringed margin, or honey-combed, and resemble daisies. They may be in almost all colors, except blue. There are many capitula and generally flat-topped

corymbs Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s. The corolla lobes show glandular hairs at the abaxial surface. ''Helichrysum'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including the bucculaticid leaf-miners ''Bucculatrix gnaphaliella'' (which feeds exclusively on ''Helichrysum arenarium'') and ''Bucculatrix helichrysella'' (feeds exclusively on ''H. italicum'') and the ''

Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors hav ...

'' case-bearers ''C. caelebipennella'', ''C. gnaphalii'' (feeds exclusively on ''H arenarium'') and ''C. helichrysiella'' (feeds exclusively on ''H. italicum'').

Species

Hilliard (1983) divided this large and heterogeneous genus in 30 morphological groups. But the genus remains controversial and is considered by many to be an artificial genus. The taxonomy of this large polymorphic and probably

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

genus is complex and not yet satisfactorily resolved. Several Australian species, such as ''H. acuminatum'' and ''H. bracteatum'', have been reclassified in the genus ''

'' in 1991, resp. as ''X. subundulatum'' and ''X. bracteatum''. In 1989, misaligned species of ''Helichrysum'' were reclassified in ''

Syncarpha ''Syncarpha'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The flowers are known by the common name: everlastings. The genus is endemic to the fynbos of the Eastern and Western Cape in South Africa. ; Species Species acc ...

''. Species included in ''

Pseudognaphalium ''Pseudognaphalium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Members of the genus are commonly known as cudweeds or rabbit tobacco ('' P. obtusifolium'' is the original species with that name). They are widespread in temperate ...

'', ''

Anaphalis ''Anaphalis'' is a genus of herbaceous and woody flowering plants within the family Asteraceae, whose members are commonly known by the name pearl or pearly everlasting. There are around 110 species with the vast majority being native to central ...

'', ''

Achyrocline ''Achyrocline'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Asteraceae described as a genus in 1838. It is native to Latin America and Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. A ...

'' and ''

Humeocline ''Humeocline'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae, endemic to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), ...

'' are probably congeneric with ''Helichrysum''. Australian species have also been reclassified to the genus ''

Chrysocephalum ''Chrysocephalum'', known by the common name everlastings for their long life as cut flowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. There are nine species, all of which were formerly classified under other genera (''Helichrysum ...

'', including ''

Chrysocephalum semipapposum ''Chrysocephalum semipapposum'', commonly known as clustered everlasting is a perennial shrub native to Australia. Clustered everlasting belongs to the family Asteraceae. ''C. semipapposum'' produces terminal flowers heads in clusters, mainly be ...

'' and ''

Chrysocephalum apiculatum ''Chrysocephalum apiculatum'', known by the common names common everlasting and yellow buttons, is a perennial herb native to southern Australia. It is a member of the Asteraceae, the daisy family. The name "everlasting" was inspired by its use a ...

''.

Uses

Several species are grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s, and for dried flowers. When cut young and dried, the open flowers and stalks preserve their colour and shape for long periods. ''

Helichrysum italicum ''Helichrysum italicum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes called the curry plant because of the strong smell of its leaves. Other common names include Italian strawflower and immortelle. It grows on dry, r ...

'' (synonym ''Helichrysum angustifolium'') is steam distilled to produce a yellow-reddish

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

popular in fragrance for its unique scent, best described as herbaceous, sweet, and honey-like. The epithet ''angustifolium'' means narrow leaved. It is commonly misspelled as ''augustifolium''.http://www.floralimages.co.uk/info/botanicallatin.html for more details on botanical naming.

Gallery

File:Helichrysum moeserianum 2.jpg, ''

Helichrysum moeserianum The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is '' Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The nam ...

'' in De Hoop N.R., South Africa File:Helichrysum orientale 2.JPG, ''

'' File:Starr 070621-7414 Helichrysum petiolare.jpg, ''

Helichrysum petiolare ''Helichrysum petiolare'', the licorice-plant or liquorice plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to South Africa — where it is known as ''imphepho'' — and naturalized in parts of Portugal and the United Stat ...

'', Licorice Plant File:Strawflower.jpg, ''

Helichrysum roseo-niveum The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is ''Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The name ...

'' in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

File:Helichrysum setosum.jpg, ''

Helichrysum setosum The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is ''Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The name ...

'' File:Helichrysumthianschanicumicicles.jpg, ''

Helichrysum thianschanicum ''Helichrysum thianschanicum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commonly known as silver spike or icicle plant. It is part of a large genus of over 500 species. Description ''Helichrysum hianschanicum'' is a small ...

'' 'Icicles' on display at the San Diego County Fair, CA, USA File:Starr 080117-2067 Helichrysum thianschanicum.jpg, ''

'' (Icicles leaves) at nursery on Maui File:Helichrysum umbraculigerum.jpg, ''

Helichrysum umbraculigerum The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is ''Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The name ...

References

External links

* *
Xeranthemum annuum
photo

Helichrysum Essential Oil species

PHYLOGENY OF SOUTH AFRICAN GNAPHALIEAE (ASTERACEAE)

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q28195 Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Philip Miller

Species

Uses

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links