Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 7, 1 July 1990 — Hawaii's shimmering Silverswords [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaii's shimmering Silverswords

ATatiiraIly Hawaiian

By Patrick Ching artist/environmentalist

Near the top of Hawaii's largest volcano grows the most spectacular of Hawaii's native plants; the Silversword. If you've ever seen an Hawaiian Silversword in full bloom I'm sure you will attest to its unequalled

magnificence. Hawaiian Silverswords look entirely different from their California cousins, from whieh they evolved. It took millions of years and extreme elimatic conditions to transform a tiny coastal California tarweed into the magnificent Silversword that we know in Hawai'i.

It is said that the summit of Haleakala onee shimmered with the sight of abundant Silverswords, however, the effects of grazing cattle and goats, combined with the up-rooting of thousands of plants by tourists and flower eolleetors by the early 1990s nearly erased the Haleakala Silversword from existence. The Haleakala Silversword is the most famous and abundant of Hawaii's Silverswords. It is also the most accessible for viewing. Rarer species exist on West Maui as well as on Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai volcanoes on the island of Hawai'i.

One may wonder how a plant as flamboyant as the Silversword ean survive the harsh climate it is found in. The typical Silversword habitat is at elevations from 6,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level where the air ean be extremely dry and cold and ultraviolet rays are very strong. A close look at the leaves and flower-stalk of the plant will reveal a covering of tiny, silvery hairs whieh give the plant its name, hinahina. (In Hawaiian, hinahina or ahinahina means very gray. ) These tiny hairs not only help to slow the dessicating wind, but also serve to reflect the sun's harsh

ultraviolet rays. For most of its life the Silversword plant looks like a spherical rosette or long, curved, silvery leaves. It may remain in this condition anywhere from five to 20 years before producing a towering, robust inflorescence of many small flowers. The Silverswords' blossoming season is from May to October. About a month after flowering the plant will die and new plants will grow either by seeds or by off-shoots, depending on the species.

Close relatives to the Silverswords are the Greenswords whieh look very mueh like Silverswords except they laek the silvery hairs covering their leaves and flower stalks. Another relative of the Silversword and Greensword is the iliau. The iliau plant ean be seen in relative abundance in Koke'e State Park on the island of Kaua'i.