One of Earth’s most spectacular plants grows on the slopes of Haleakala (16). As a species, the Haleakala ahinahina thrived for thousands of years in this sometimes-harsh environment of high winds and subfreezing temperatures where almost no other plants would of been able to survive.
[1] The dagger-shaped, lime green leaves of the plant with a covering of a dense layer of silvery hairs. [2] The plant lives from fifteen to fifty years and at the end of it‘s life sprouts a dazzling stalk of maroon, sunflower-like blossoms. [3] The stalk may reacha height of eight feet and bear up to six hundred flower heads. [4] By the 1920s, tourism and the introduction of cattle, goats, and other nonnative grazing animals drove this plant to the brink of extinction. [5] Tourist’s decreased the plant population by taking home specimens as souvenirs. [6] They also inflicted harm which unintentionally crushing the fragile roots when walking on the soil near the plant. [7] Even gently touching the Haleakala ahinahina can mean death for the plant, whose delicate silver hairs protect itself from solar radiation and dehydration. [8] Moreover, the plant has none of the natural defenses—such as thorns, bitter-tasting foliage, or poisonous chemicals—that might otherwise protect it from grazing animals. (26)
In the 1920s, alarmed about being endangered, the Maui Chamber of Commerce petitioned Congress, asking that a serious effort be made, to save the plant. The first reliable count of Haleakala ahinahina was made in the summer of 1935. At that time, 1,470 plants were tallied.
Over the past sixty years, the species has been protected by the National Park Service and has been written about. Previous threats from animal grazing and human activities have been eliminated in large part because of fencing and rules prohibiting hikers from leaving established walking paths. As a result, today there are more than 40,000 Haleakala ahinahina growing in or around the volcano.