Helichrysum marginatum

Helichrysum marginatum, commonly the silver-margined strawflower or silver-edged everlasting and mankhama-khama in southern Sotho, is a mat-forming, evergreen, dwarf shrublet that grows many branching stems from a woody rootstock and reaches heights from 15 cm to 30 cm. The stems creep along the ground as they elongate, the ensuing densely leafy mat reaching up to 1 m in diameter.

The leathery leaves mostly appear in few-leaved, stem-tip rosettes, showing only their upper, out-curving parts. The leaf-shape is ovate, the tips rounded to pointed and the margins entire. The variably pale to dark green blades curve in laterally. They are glabrous (hairless) on both sides, while the margins are conspicuously white with hairs. The young leaves, however, start off hairy all over.

The species distribution is inland in the north of the Eastern Cape, the east of the Free State and the southwest of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as Lesotho.

The habitat is rocky Drakensberg and Maluti grassland at elevations from 2440 m to 3300 m, mainly on sheet rock and cliff faces.

The plant is recommended for sunny rock gardens and roof gardens in the summer rainfall areas. It survives severe frost (Pooley, et al, 2025; iNaturalist; JSTOR; www.keys.lucidcentral.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).