Silverswords | Graham's Island

A Mauna Kea Silversword plsnt growing near the visitor center

Next door the Mauna Kea Visitor Center is an enclosed area where Mauna Kea Silverswords (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. sandwicense) grow. These silverswords are closely related to species found on Mauna Loa and Haleakala on Maui. All silverswords are at risk of extinction. The reasons are the usual suspects: humans, feral sheep and goats, climate change. They also suffer from a lack of genetic diversity. The current burgeoning population of more than 8,000 has been produced from only six wild plants.

Silverswords can grow for 30 years or more, but once they bloom, they die. I haven’t seen a Mauna Kea Silversword blooming, but I was lucky enough to see Mauna Loa Silverswords blooming not long after I moved to the island (here). The second photo shows one of those plants in bloom. It was over six feet tall!

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

This is the time of year when silverswords bloom. These plants, members of the sunflower family, are endemic to Hawaii. There are slightly different silverswords growing on Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Haleakala on Maui. The plants are very susceptible to root disturbance and the activities of goats, pigs and humans has led to their decline. They’re making a comeback now thanks to fenced enclosures and careful management.

These photos were taken on Mauna Loa a few years back. The flower stalks were about 6 to 8 feet tall. The plants live for up to 30 years, but once they bloom, they die (like the one in the background of the top photo).

In the second photo, the ongoing eruption of Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent can be seen.

For more information about Mauna Loa silverswords, go to nps.gov/havo/learn/nature/endangered_ahinahina.htm.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii

Tag Archives: Silverswords

Mauna Kea Silverswords

Mauna Loa silverswords bloom and die