Perennial sub-shrub of the Asteraceae family, Helichrysum italicum subsp. serotinum is distinguished from the type species by even more intensely silver, almost white foliage, slightly wider and longer leaves, and later flowering, as indicated by its epithet. It is native to the Iberian Peninsula and the south of France, where it colonizes rocky areas, open garrigues, and well-exposed sandy or stony terrains.
It forms a rounded and dense bush, 40 to 70 cm in height, with erect stems starting from a woody base. The leaves are linear to linear-spatulate, more developed than in the type species, remarkably woolly and a bright silver-white that gives the plant a very marked presence even outside of flowering. This foliage, releasing a powerful curry scent when crushed, is one of the clearest and most abundant of the genus.
The bright yellow, small and tight capitula are gathered in large, flattened corymbs, very numerous, which generously crown the erect flowering stems above the silver foliage. In its natural habitat, flowering extends from July to September. In cultivation, it occurs at roughly the same dates, sometimes a little earlier depending on exposure.
It requires full sun and a poor, very well-drained soil, dry in summer. Hardy down to about -10°C in dry conditions, it mainly fears stagnant winter humidity. A light pruning in spring maintains the compactness of the bush.