About Helichrysum leucopsideum DC.
Helichrysum leucopsideum DC., commonly known as satin everlasting, is an upright, spreading perennial herb that grows 15–50 cm (5.9–19.7 in) tall. Its stems have occasional to thickly packed woolly glandular hairs. The leaves range from narrowly oblong to linear in shape, 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in) long and 1–10 mm (0.039–0.394 in) wide. Leaves vary from blunt to sharply pointed at the tip, and always end in a sharp point. The upper leaf surface is green, rough, and either hairless or covered with a few scattered glandular hairs. The lower leaf surface is grey or white, densely woolly, and has margins that are rolled under or wavy. Flower heads are most often borne singly, or in groups of 2 to 3 arranged in corymbs. Each flower head is 2–3.5 cm (0.79–1.38 in) in diameter. Bracts of the flower head are arranged in approximately 10 rows; they are white, sometimes pinkish when in bud, woolly towards the base, and fold back toward the stem as the flower matures. The florets are yellow and numerous. Flowering occurs mostly in spring and summer. The fruit is a smooth, brown, bristly cypsela 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long. This species grows in a variety of habitats including sand, open forests, coastal scrub, and sub-alpine locations across Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.
