me, immortal

With my superhero name, you might think that I have superpowers and that I'm truly immortal… Well, that's the case!

Helichryse, but everyone knows me under the name of immortelle, because I have this faculty of not being part of the ordinary of simple mortals. Indeed, even after picking me, I do not fade. The Greek etymology of my name is already quite a program: " Helios " for the sun, because I am a very resistant plant that does not fear drought and which soaks up the rays of the sun, and " chrysos " for gold . , an allusion to the beautiful golden color with which my flowers are tinted.

I can be found all around the Mediterranean, but I remain the emblem of the Corsican maquis because it is precisely this that allows me to be a real asset in aromatherapy and phytotherapy. My essential oil is well known for its many therapeutic benefits, but also for its soothing properties: it reduces scars, soothes burns and sunburns and heals bruises, hence my nickname " boxer's oil " .

I also have many medicinal virtues: I transform any treatment into a magic formula against skin aging and the fight against wrinkles as soon as I enter into its composition. In the kitchen, we will like to lightly infuse my flowers in sauces or stews to leave a pleasant taste of curry. Because you should know that in my natural environment, I am a plant that smells very strongly of this spice. So strong, that it is said that my smell would have guided the boat of Napoleon Bonaparte himself when he returned to the island of Beauty...

Symbol of this island garden that made me who I am, a plant with many benefits and anti-aging, anti-wrinkle and anti-bruising properties, I am magic. And that is deadly!

Text: Sonia Ben Abdeslem
Illustration: Pascal Drai