By: Joshua P.
Description The Mauna Kea Silversword is a beautiful,majestic plant that is attractive to lots of tourists. Today the Silversword stands on the Endangered Species List and we need to protect it. The Silversword scientific name is Argyroxiphium sandwicense and it’s Hawaiian name is Ahinahina because it is gray color. The Mauna Kea Silversword got its name from its sword shape leaves. It is in the Compositae (sunflower) family, and has silver leaves that are between 15 and 40 feet long and between 0.5 cm and 1.5 cm wide. The leaves of this plant grow in bunches called rosettes. These leaves are really important because they are used to catch rain. This plant can grow up to six feet tall. This plant has an unusual life cycle. It grows for 50 years before flowering. After flowering, it dies.
Habitat The Mauna Kea Silversword lives on the mountain slopes of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The Silversword grows between 10,000 and 12,000 feet and used to grow at 6,000 feet, but the Silversword was pushed up because of more grazing animals at lower elevations. The plant lives in harsh conditions, with little rainfall, and a lot of sunlight.
Why is the Plant Endangered? The Ahinahina has been on the Endangered Species List since March 21, 1986. This plant went to this list because in 1971 there were only 100 silversword plants left. This plant diminished because they were mostly eaten by sheep and goats. This plant population diminished so quickly from 30,000 silversword in the 1930s to 100 in 1971.
What we can do? We can help in this recovery process by not disturbing this plant, even though it is so beautiful. Other people have been fencing off the Mauna Kea Silversword so nobody will disturb it. Currently, it is being researched by the University of Hawaii, the University of California, and the University of British Columbia to find ways to protect this precious plant, so that it doesn’t go extinct. After the communities efforts the population is now on the rise. In 1999, there were about 4,000 and now, in 2013 there are about 8,000.
Bibliography "ʻ Āhinahina, Silversword." Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station. Mauna Kea Support Services , 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/naturalhistory/flora/ahinahina.html> "Recovery Plan for the Mauna Kea Silversword." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/flora/mk_silversword.html>. "Hawaiian silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense)." ARKive. Wildscreen , 20032013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. <http://www.arkive.org/hawaiiansilversword/argyroxiphiumsandwicense/>.