Argyroxiphium sandwicenseDC .
Hawai’i Silversword , Hawaiian Silversword , Mauna Kea Silversword
Argyrophyton douglasii , Argyroxiphium sandwicensesubsp.sandwicense , genus Argyroxiphium sandwicensevar.sandwicense , Dubautia sandwicensis
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home : AsteraceaeSubfamily : AsteroideaeTribe : MadieaeGenus : Argyroxiphium
This species is indigenous toHawaii . It grow only on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea at tiptop between 8,530 and 12,470 human foot ( 2,600 to 3,800 m ) .
genus Argyroxiphium sandwicenseis a rarified plant that forms a magnanimous testicle - shaped stem canker of legion narrow , lancet - shaped leaves coated with silvery hairs . The little potato grow up to 2.5 metrical unit ( 75 atomic number 96 ) in diameter , usually solitary , but some specimens produce offsets and form a miserly bunch of russet scab of various sizes . Leaves are up to 16 inches ( 40 centimetre ) long and up to 0.6 inches ( 1.5 cm ) broad .
The rosette may live from 3 to more than 50 years before flowering , flowers only once , and then die . matured rosettes send up a spectacular , up to 10 feet ( 3 ) tall angry walk with legion short limb , each cease in a single head of flowers in summer . The efflorescence heads are up to 0.8 inches ( 2 cm ) in diameter and have white to pink ray florets and pinkish to maroon magnetic disk floret . A stem canker that flower in the absence of other flowering rosettes can farm a few black achene that contain a individual semen .
USDA hardiness zone10a to 10b : from 30 ° F ( −1.1 ° C ) to 40 ° F ( +4.4 ° C ) .
The silversword coalition is about 50 species of plant belonging to three genera endemic to the Hawaiian islands . They get their common name from the visually telling silversword .
These industrial plant only blossom once in their life . The Ag rosettes grow for a number of yr before the inflorescence ascends skywards . heyday look from mid - June to November , and the whole flora dies after the seeds have been cast . These alien - look plant are ideally beseem to their rough environment . The silver grey leaves think over the sun ’s rays while their shape keep wet loss and protect the more delicate nitty-gritty of the plant from predation .
These attractive plants were previously collected as wonder . climber on the mountains would dig them up as test copy that they had reached the summit . Populations were further depleted by browsing and trample by goats and cows in the orbit . TodayArgyroxiphium sandwicenseis restricted to a individual population of as few as 30 plants in the Wailuku River basin on Mauna Kea in Hawaii . These plants are at risk of infection from the modest size and range of their universe , which is vulnerable to any prospect case that might happen .
The Hawai’i Silversword is protected in Hawaii .
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