The Haleakala silversword is endemic to
Haleakala National Park growing at high elevation inside the
crater and along the slopes of the volcano. It is the most
famous member of the endemic Hawaiian silversword. It's
considered a first class example of adaptation, having managed
to live in such a harsh environment as Haleakala. Their silver
hairs allow them to retain water and protect themselves from the
intense sun at this altitude. The silversword flowers only once
during its life and then it dies. Their Hawaiian name is
'ahinahina which means "gray gray". The silverwords were near
extinction in the 1920's because of human vandalism and due to
the introduced wild goats. Today they are protected and with the
wild goats being eliminated from Haleakala, the silverswords have
rebounded. There are several trails that highlight silverswords
and there's a few of them located near the summit's shelter.
