everlasting

Any of several plants that retain their form and colour when dried and are used in dry bouquets and flower arrangements. Popular everlastings include several species of the aster family, especially the true everlastings, or immortelles, species of the genus Helichrysum, native to North Africa, Crete, and the parts of Asia bordering on the Mediterranean and cultivated in many parts of Europe. One of the best-known everlastings is the strawflower (H. bracteatum) of Australia. Many grasses with showy plumes or spikes are classified as everlastings.

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