Helichrysum appendiculatum

Helichrysum appendiculatum is a perennial herb that grows branched stems from a woody rootstock to heights around 55 cm. The oblong to elliptic whitish woolly leaves earned the plant the common name of sheep’s ears everlasting. The basal leaves are bigger than those up the stems. The upper leaves in picture are dull green, narrowly tapering to their tips with conspicuous midribs; the white hairs visible.

Inflorescences are terminal clusters of small flowerheads, compact or spreading. Several rows of pointed involucral bracts around the small yellow cluster of disc flowers vary in colour from cream to pink or purplish. Flowering happens mainly in summer, sometimes longer, but not in winter. The fruit is an achene, crowned by a ring of pappus hairs.

The plant grows in grassland and scrub from Swellendam to Swaziland. This one was photographed in the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area in January (iSpot; www.plantzafrica.com).