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Winged Everlasting

Ammobium alatum (am-MO-bee-um a-LAH-tum)

Family: Asteraceae Unknown Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

Native to Australia, winged everlasting is a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae). It prefers warm days, cool nights, and well-drained soil in full sun. It does not tolerate wet soils. Temperature stress combined with humidity and afternoon rains can result in disease. It is a tender perennial grown as tender annual that self-seeds in North Carolina. It is commonly found in woodlands or along roadsides or grasslands. This plant requires 12-15 inches of available space. It is typically grown for dried-flower production, but they are also useful as fresh cuts for flower arrangements. The common name winged everlasting comes from the ribbed, or winged, stems the plant produces. It is beautiful planted in masses or along borders.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 49 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft) Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Annual
Life cycle
Annual; Perennial
USDA zones
8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 3 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaf rosette is 12 inches.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Gray/Silver; White
Flower value
Good Cut; Good Dried
Flower form
Head
Flower shape
Radial; Saucer
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
1/2- 3/4" bottle cap-like flowers with silvery-white petals open to reveal yellow centers on stiff stems. Yellow centers darken with age. Technically, the silvery-white "petals" are actually bracts, which is a type of leaf.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Stem color
Gray/Silver; Green
Stem detail
Winged or ribbed, wooly
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
E. & SE. Australia
Wildlife value
Attracts bees hoverflies and predatory wasps.
Attracts
Specialized Bees
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Achene
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Woodland
Landscape theme
Cottage Garden
Design feature
Border; Mass Planting
Garden tags
#well-drained soil #full sun tolerant #silver #deciduous #yellow flowers #white flowers #bracts #mass planting #wasps #daisy-like #border planting #summer flowers #bee friendly #dried arrangements #cutting garden #wildlife friendly #woodland
Problems & Resistance
Propagation
Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.