A Haleakala Silversword plant blooms. Dark red flowers dot a tall green spiky bloom that rises 4 to 5 feet above a crown of a silvery leaves. Brown desert under a deep blue sky in the background.
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [S] 8 points 1 year ago

Maui’s rare silversword plants on Haleakala are dying from increased warmth and drought (2019 article)

https://archive.ph/folgc

From https://www.nps.gov/hale/learn/nature/silversword.htm

The silvery hairs, fleshy leaves, and low-growing rosette form of the Haleakalā silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum) allow it to survive in hot, dry climates like the aeolian desert cinder slopes of the crater. Silverswords live between 3 and 90 years or more. They flower once, sending up a spectacular flowering stalk, and then die soon afterward, scattering drying seeds to the wind.

  • source