Stone Plant (Everlasting)

Everlasting, any of several plants that retain their form and colour when dried and are used in dry bouquets and flower arrangements. Popular everlastings include several species of the family Asteraceae, especially the true everlastings, or immortelles, species of the genus Helichrysum. Helichrysum—native to North Africa, Crete, and the parts of Asia bordering on the Mediterranean—is cultivated in many parts of Europe. The immortelles have one or more whorls of dry, scalelike or membranous bracts (leaves borne below flowers) that preserve their appearance when dried. Helichrysum is tufted in its growth, each plant producing 60 or 70 stems, each stem an average of 20 flowers. The bracts are deep yellow, but the flower heads may be dyed a variety of shades. One of the best-known everlastings is the strawflower (H. bracteatum) of Australia.