What is unique about the Silversword plant in Hawaii?

What is unique about the Silversword plant in Hawaii?

The Hawaiian silversword– known by its Hawaiian name ‘ahinahina (“very grey”)– is an exceptionally rare and endangered plant unique to Haleakala on Maui and Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. However, the plants’ most striking feature is its towering blooms that can reach up to 6 feet in length.

Are Silversword plants toxic?

Given the right growing conditions, the plant can reach up to a metre in height. All philodendrons are toxic to animals and so should be kept out of reach of pets and children.

Why is the Mauna Loa Silversword endangered?

The alien animals spread rapidly, with the sheep population on Mauna Kea eventually exceeding 40,000. As alien ungulate populations increased, silverswords declined severely in distribution and abundance, presumably due to heavy browsing.

Is Silversword a succulent?

The Haleakala silversword, Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum, has numerous sword-like succulent leaves covered with silver hairs. Silversword plants in general grow on volcanic cinder, a dry, rocky substrate that is subject to freezing temperatures and high winds.

How did the silversword get to Hawaii?

The Silver Sword Alliance apparently evolved from an ancestral, self-pollinating, California tarweed that colonized these islands millions of years ago. Presumably the ancestral tarweed seeds reached the Hawaiian islands by drifting or rafting in the ocean currents.

Where do silversword plants grow?

sandwicense, the Mauna Kea silversword, is a highly endangered flowering plant endemic to the island of Hawaiʻi (Big Island) of Hawaii. It is the “crown jewel” of the volcanic mountain Mauna Kea, from which it derives its English name.

How did the Silversword get to Hawaii?

Is the Silversword endemic to Hawaii?

Is the Haleakala Silversword endangered?

Vulnerable (Population increasing)
Argyroxiphium sandwicense/Conservation status

What animals and plants live in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park?

Welcome to a world that shelters an array of Hawaiian native species including a host of fascinating birds, carnivorous caterpillars, the largest dragonfly in the United States, crickets partial to new lava flows, endangered sea turtles and just one native terrestrial mammal – a bat.

Where do Silversword plants grow?

What type of evidence supports the idea that the Silversword Alliance evolved from a California Tarweed?

In the case of the Hawaiian Silversword Alliance, 3 separate lines of genetic evidence strongly suggest that this species group arose from the hybridization and allopolyploidization of two North American Tarweeds.

How does the Haleakala silversword survive?

Haleakala silversword in full bloom. The silvery hairs, fleshy leaves, and low-growing rosette form of the Haleakala silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum) allow it to survive in hot, dry climates like the aeolian desert cinder slopes of the crater.

What is the Hawaiian silversword?

The Hawaiian silversword – known by its Hawaiian name ‘ ahinahina (“very grey”)– is an exceptionally rare and endangered plant unique to Haleakala on Maui and Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

What is a silversword plant?

What is a Silversword Plant? The Hawaiian silversword – known by its Hawaiian name ‘ ahinahina (“very grey”)– is an exceptionally rare and endangered plant unique to Haleakala on Maui and Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.

What is the difference between Haleakala and Kau silversword?

Subspecies sandwicense is known as the Mauna Kea silversword, which is very similar to the Haleakala silversword, although its flower head is a bit narrower and it tends to yield fewer flowers. A third close relative, the Mauna Loa silversword or Kau Silversword (Argyroxiphium kauense) can be found on the eastern and southern slopes of Mauna Loa.