Helichrysum

(hěl-ik-ri's um.) [From Gr. helios, the sun, and chrysos, gold.] (Bot.) A gen. of herbaceous or shrubby plants, O. Asteraceæ, mostly natives of the Cape of Good Hope, and having beautifully radiated flower heads. H. orientale, a native of Crete and Africa, is the Immortelle of the French. Its flower-heads are yellow, but are often dyed green, orange, or black, and are much employed in the making of wreaths intended as votive offerings to the dead. [s. 447]