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Fringed Everlasting
~ Chrysocephalum baxteri ~
ASTERACEAE
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Our iconic Everlastings are also known as Paper Daisies – delicate by sight, hardy by constitution. There is something wondrous about these sensory flowers, feeling the feathery and papery bracts under your fingertips. The Everlastings seem to retain their life and colour for eternity and can be dried out to create a forever bouquet: pick the flowers just before the buds burst open, bunch and hang upside down to dry for a week away from direct sunlight. Once crispy, pop them into a dry vase and place in a spot where the morning or afternoon light will halo their delicate daisy bracts. This is a guaranteed way to create a sunnier disposition within all that gaze upon them.
WHERE TO LOOK
This plant is widespread in Australia’s south-east corner, clinging to the coastal sides of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales throughout lowland heaths and dry open forests. It also features on an exclusive plot on Cape Barren Island perched among the sand dunes.
Locations → NSW: Mount Imlay National Park and Nadgee Nature Reserve; Victoria: Brisbane Ranges National Park, Otway Plain and the Goldfields; SA: Black Hill Conservation Park, Morialta Conservation Park and Horsnell Gully Conservation Park; Tasmania: Cape Barren Island.
FEATURES
The Fringed Everlasting produces woolly white stems 20–40cm high. Its dainty linear leaves are also densely woolly on their undersides. This unique fuzziness gives it a silvery-green hue as its dominant colour. As with other Everlasting Daisy family members, the white petals are bracts that hug and support its densely packed yellow flower centre. The single flower head that collects at the end of the stem is striking; when fully open, its white feathery bracts and round yellow centre resemble a favourite breakfast friend: the fried egg.
FLOWERING SEASON
Spring to early autumn → This perennial herb flowers from September and through summer. It can even be sighted in April.
PLANTING
A full sunny position is preferred in well-drained soil. A hardy, easy to grow little number, it can be propagated by seed and cuttings. Seeds are easy to find online and in nurseries. For a full breakdown on how to create a wildflower meadow with Everlastings, see p. xix.
