Everlasting EO Organic
Origin: France

• Details and product description

  Introduction:

  The name helichrysum is derived from the Greek “helios”, meaning sun, and “chrysos”, meaning gold. It is a perennial herbaceous shrub rarely exceeding 50 cm (20 inches) in height. It has lanceolate, spatulate, downy leaves that are of a silvery grey-green color. It produces a cluster of golden yellow flowers with ball-shaped capitulum in a corymb (flat-topped inflorescence) on a woody stem. The appellation “italicum” refers to the region where the plant was first described. It is believed that the French name of “immortelle” (everlasting flower) is derived from the fact that bouquets of these flowers dry out and last a very long time. While the plant can be found throughout the Mediterranean region, the helichrysum or immortelle that grow in Corsica are incomparable in finesse and richness. The plant’s distinctive fragrance has a strong association with the Corsican shrub and is used as a powerful ingredient in olfactory, aromatic and cosmetic compositions. Immortelle from Corsica produce essential oils with a neryl acetate level of 35%, the highest among the helichrysum genus (neryl acetate is the main component of Helichrysum italicum). Robertet group chose this variety for its essential oils in order to provide its clients with impeccable olfactory and biochemical qualities.   Other varieties: 1) Helichrysum angustifolium This is an herbaceous, hardy and shrub-like plant, maximum 50 cm high, with green-grey silver-coloured leaves, lanceolate, spatulate and downy. Ligneous stem. Yellow flowers in globulous capitulum, themselves grouped in corymb. Brown and tuberous achene, with aigrette. Helichrysum angustifolium merits the name of curry plant due to the persistent smell of its foliage, perceptible from several meters away. 2) Helichrysum stoechas An herbaceous, hardy plant, very aromatic, with a ligneous base that is (5 - 50 cm) high. Lying-ascending or erected stem, branching from the base. Linear leaves, with rolled edges, greyish-white and hairy, particularly underneath. The flowers are arranged in a subspherical capitulum, 4 - 6 mm wide, golden yellow, grouped in corymbs; yellow scarious bracts, The internal ones widened in spatule and are twice as long as the external ones. Fruit: brownish achene, covered with small and shiny glands, which have a pappus formed by simple denticulate bristles. 

  History:

  The origin of the plant's name comes from the fact that Everlasting never fades and remains intact while flowering. What's more, after a scrubland fire, it's the first plant to reappear. The Latin name, " Helicrysum ", derives from Greek "helios" or sun and "chrysos" or gold; its capitulum is reminiscent of small golden suns. Historical accounts of the immortelle (or curry plant) can be traced back to Greek mythology, which describes how the god Apollo wore a crown made of its yellow flowers to remind everyone of his immortality. However, it seems the immortelle’s medicinal properties were overlooked for centuries. The plant was considered too invasive, and its fragrance too overwhelming. Legend has it that Princess Nausicaä, daughter of the Phoenician King Alcinous, was the first to discover the plant’s properties. It is said that the princess, who resembled a goddess, used the immortelle as her beauty secret, applying it to her body and face. Despite its prevalence in mythology, the plant continued to be neglected for centuries. It regained prominence in popular culture in the 19th century thanks to Napoleon, who was notably fond of the plant as it reminded him of his native Corsica. Though helichrysum was used during WWI to purify the air of hospitals where soldiers were dying, by and large, it still attracted little interest. It’s only as recently as the 20th century that its phytotherapeutic properties for treating certain ailments were rediscovered. The plant has been used for a long time to treat asthma, chronic bronchitis and whooping cough.

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