Daisy like plant with multi-color dry hard petals?

Question

When I was a kid, someone had brought us some flowers looked like multi-colored daisy. The petals felt dry, hard. When we sowed its seeds, to our surprise, many of them grew with no care. I'm surprised these flowers are not everywhere. They are like instantly preserved, without drying effort.

List of characteristics:

• daisy-like
• multi-color
• petals feel hard & dry at touch
• easily sowed again from its seeds
• easily preserved without drying effort

I would like to grow them, but I newer saw them again. Do any of you seen such flowers? If yes, are they poisonous or something? Why are they not more prevalent? What is its name?

Answer 1

You may be thinking of strawflower, which is Helichrysum bracteatum (now reclassified as Xerochrysum bracteatum) - the flowers are variously coloured, like daisies when fully open, and when they appear, the cone shape in the middle opens last of all. The 'petals' are actually bracts, and are dry and crispy as soon as they appear, but cut stems do need drying if you wish to retain the stem. They should be cut before fully open, and certainly before the cone shaped part in the centre of the flower is fully open. They're a half hardy (in the UK) annual plant, so need to be sown yearly. Photo below

I used to grow these years ago and still have a handful of flowerheads mixed in some pot pourri, though the colours fade in sunlight over time. They are easy to grow in sun or part shade.