Ahinahina - Silversword - Argyroxiphium sandwicense - Sunrise on the Summit Haleakala Maui Hawaii

ʻĀhinahina
Silversword
Argyroxiphium sandwicense
Sunrise on the Summit
Haleakalā Maui Hawaii

At senescence, which often... more

by Sharon Mau

Title

Ahinahina - Silversword - Argyroxiphium sandwicense - Sunrise on the Summit Haleakala Maui Hawaii

Artist

Sharon Mau

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

ʻĀhinahina
Silversword
Argyroxiphium sandwicense
Sunrise on the Summit
Haleakalā Maui Hawaii

At senescence, which often occurs when the plant reaches a diameter of approximately 0.5 metres (1.6 ft), the plant produces a tall stalk of maroon ray flowers which resemble the sunflower in just a few weeks. Flowering usually occurs from July through October. This flowering stalk may have up to 600 heads of up to 40 outlying ray flowers and 600 disk flowers and is pollinated by flying insects like Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) volcanicus. The flower stalk may reach up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height and has numerous tiny sticky hairs to prevent crawling insects from damaging the plant. Seeding of the plant is very sensitive because damage to the flowers or stalk by insects before reseeding further hinders the threatened species' propagation.
The leaves become limp and dry as the monocarpic plant then goes to seed and dies.

Before the National Park Service was granted control of Haleakalā volcano, visitors to the volcano's summit often participated in the common practice of uprooting a silversword plant and then rolling it on the jagged lava rock terrain, (can you imagine) and drying the flowers for arrangements, or using the plant as kindling. Because the delicate, shallow root structure can be crushed by walking in the rocks around the plant, they are very sensitive to foreign elements.

Silversword alliance refers to an adaptive radiation of over 50 species in the composite or sunflower family, Asteraceae.
The group is endemic to Hawaiʻi, and is derived from a single immigrant to the islands.
For radiating from a common ancestor at an estimated 5.2 0.8 Ma, the clade is extremely diverse, composed of trees, shrubs, subshrubs, mat-plants, cushion plants, rosette plants, and lianas.

The Silversword Alliance is named for its most famous and visually striking members, the Silverswords.
There are three species of Silverswords and two Greenswords in the genus Argyroxiphium, confined to the islands of Maui and Hawai'i, and two species of Wilkesia (iliau) on Kaua'i.

Flora and Fauna that exist nowhere else in the world - To see the ʻĀhinahina - Hawaiian Silversword in bloom is truly special . .
This image was photographed this morning on the summit of Haleakalā 06 August 2013 08/06/2013 0558 hours 05:58:49 AM HST
This is at eye level at 10,000 feet above sea level on the summit of Haleakalā this morning at sunrise . .
From the roof of Maui what you see behind the ʻĀhinahina is the sun rising over the slopes and ridges of Haleakalā crater down below . .

ʻĀhinahina
Maui Hawai'i

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August 7th, 2013