Helichrysum setosum

Helichrysum setosum, the yellow everlasting and sometimes the sunny everlasting, is a leafy perennial reaching about 60 cm in height. The erect stems become hardened and brittle as they thicken, but only woody at the base. Stems branch repeatedly, lending a bushy appearance to the plant. The plant presents yellow flowerheads at stem tips above its bright green to yellow green foliage.

The species distribution is in the northeast and centre of South Africa, from the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal to the provinces north of the Vaal River. It also grows in several countries to the north, at least as far as Malawi. The photo was taken on the Magaliesberg.

The habitat is rocky grassland, often on upper slopes and ridges. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).