For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Yellow Everlasting (Helichrysum cooperi)
family Asteraceae
This biennial
aromatic herb grows in grassland, often near or on forest margins in the Free
State, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal and Lesotho.
Height about 30cm.
The flowers of Helichrysum
cooperi attract many small insects like bees, flies and beetles which
pollinate them when moving from one to the other. Seed dispersal is by water or
wind. The leaves may hold the seed (fruit) with their sticky surface thus
preventing them from being blown away by the wind.
Helichrysum cooperi is
used as a love charm by the Zulus. The dry leaves are mixed into an ointment
which is applied all over the body after the bath. As a result the desired lady
finds the man irresistable. From a horticultural point of view Helichrysum
cooperi is a good fill-in plant with its bright golden yellow flowerheads
which may be produced for more than three months.
