Strawflower, golden everlasting, paper daisy

Xeranthemum bracteatum Ventenat, Jard. Malmaison 1: plate 2. 1803; Bracteantha bracteata (Ventenat) Anderberg & Haegi; Helichrysum bracteatum (Ventenat) Andrews

Annuals or perennials, 20–90 cm (dwarf varieties mostly less than 30 cm); taprooted. Stems scabrellous and minutely glandular, sometimes lightly arachnoid as well. Leaf blades narrowly elliptic or oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 2–5(–10) cm, sometimes slightly fleshy, vestiture like stems. Heads 3–5 cm diam. (across open involucres). Phyllaries yellow (wild form) or white to pink, red, and purple (cultivars), 10–20 mm. 2. = 24, 26, 28.

Flowering summer. Disturbed sites; 20–50 m; introduced; Conn., Mass.; Australia.

Known in horticulture as Helichrysum bracteatum, Xerochrysum bracteatum is widely cultivated for its relatively large, spreading, and spectacularly colored involucral bracts. It apparently rarely escapes from cultivation.