Haleakala Silversword

This exceedingly rare plant, Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum is only found on this mountain in Maui. A relative, the Mauna Kea Silversword is found only on the Big Island. At first glance, it definitely looked like a succulent, and I mistook it for a Yucca of some sort. The plants have swordlike leaves which form a rosette and are covered with silvery hairs. The climate on Haleakala is very dry, and the hairs help the plants get water. We stayed for sunset and the temperature dropped to near freezing. Snow is not uncommon on the peak.

Individual plants can live for 50 years before they initiate a flower cycle. The flower head rises two meters up out of the rosette and contains up to six hundred flower heads that are pollinated by a small bee, Hylaeus volcanicus. We saw mature plants in flower near the summit. The population has declined from around 50,000 individuals to less than 35,000 over the last decade. Haleakala Silversword, or ‘ahinahina’ in Hawaiian, has been listed as a threatened species since 1992. The National Park Service controls the number of people that can visit this fragile ecosystem each day. Climate change is also having an impact on the survival of this incredible plant species.

Mark Leichty is the Director of Business Development at Little Prince of Oregon Nursery near Portland. He is a certified plant geek who enjoys visiting beautiful gardens and garden centers searching for rare and unique plants to satisfy his plant lust. mark@littleprinceoforegon.com