Curry plant
Helichrysum stoechas
Family · Asteraceae · Harmless
Traditional useAromatic
The dry yellow buttons of the dunes, which do not wilt even after picking. Rubbed, it smells of curry, which surprises everyone.
Where it grows
Dunes and sand · Scrubland · Roadsides and waste ground
Also known aseverlasting, shrubby everlasting
In flower
How to tell it
Narrow silvery leaves covered in fine hairs. Flowers in clusters of hard yellow buttons that feel like paper. The curry smell removes all doubt.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
Gathered for dried arrangements and used in Iberian folk medicine, mostly as a fumigant. It is not the kitchen curry, despite the smell.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.