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Helichrysum pagophilum is a perennial from the Asteraceae family, endemic to Réunion, where it is confined to the volcanic summit areas of the island, mainly on the slopes of Piton de la Fournaise and in the highlands of Plaine des Sables, between 2,000 and 2,600 meters altitude. Its name is explicit: pagophilum literally means ice-loving, referring to the extreme conditions of its natural habitat, exposed to frequent nocturnal frosts, intense ultraviolet radiation, and almost inert volcanic substrates.
It forms a dense, compact, and very low cushion, only a few centimeters high, composed of numerous small rosettes tightly packed together. The leaves are small, oval to spatulate, medium green on the upper side, bordered and covered on both sides with a white-grayish tomentum that gives them a finely downy and milky appearance, very characteristic. This cottony coating, particularly dense on the leaf margins, is a direct adaptation to the extreme conditions of the environment: intense radiation, wind, and abrupt thermal variations.
The capitula are small, yellow, borne very close to the foliage. In its natural habitat, flowering mainly occurs in the austral spring, between May and October, depending on the year and local conditions. In cultivation, it blooms sparingly, and it is primarily its cushion-like foliage that attracts attention.
In cultivation, this species is delicate and demanding. It requires a very poor, exclusively mineral substrate, based on pozzolana or crushed granite, without organic matter. Watering must be very measured. It tolerates light frosts but absolutely fears prolonged humidity at the collar. A very well-ventilated, bright cold greenhouse provides the most reliable cultivation setting under our latitudes. It is a collector's plant, sought after for the curiosity of its tiny cushion-like form and the singularity of its tropical high-altitude volcanic origin.