Just a taste of my quest into the Haleakala crater
Years ago, I was first taught the adaptations associated with the Haleakala Silversword in basic botany. From that very moment, I knew I had to see these botanical beauties in person. Thankfully some of the National Tropical Botanical Garden interns were able to travel the Maui garden, Kahanu Garden. This was a chance of a life time and I jumped on this opportunity. After weeks of planing and working out the logistics required to spend a night in the crater, we were ready to begin another journey.
Haleakala National Park is set in "a dormant, but not extinct volcano, that forms the east side of Maui. The Hawaiian area is sacred to native islanders, as well as a famous destination for island visitors. Elevation is 10,023 feet. Haleakala National Park, featuring two entrances, affords visitors an amazing experience that includes distant vistas, waterfalls, rain forest, plants, wildlife, and volcanic scenery."
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| My first sighting and selfie ! |
Hiking into the crater
From start to finish there was a noticeable change in landscape as the grasslands turned into rolling hills of volcanic rock outcrops. This wind swept landscape is filled with the stories of evolutionary pressure that have allow certain adaptations to develop
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| Rolling hills dominated by grasses |
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| A contrast of wonder |
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| Grasses seem to go on for miles |
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| The landscape changes as we hike further into the crater |
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| Clumps of green scattered in the landscape |
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| Rocks adorn the surface |
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| A botanical paradise |
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| Mars |
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| Shrubs hold on to the side canyons |
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| Trails leading to an unknown world |
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| No picture will do it justice |
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| The landscape continues to change |
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| Almost to the center |
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| Speechless views |
Haleakala Silversword overload
The Haleakalā silversword is endemic to the region of the Haleakala crater meaning that is only found on the island of Maui at elevations above 2,100 meters. Due to excessive grazing by cattle and goats, and vandalism the silverswords are protected as threatened species Over the years this species' recovery has been met with considerable success. Plants that are within the Silversword alliance are in the plant family Asteraceae (sunflower family). These plants are monocarpic, so once they flowers and produces seed they rapidly senescent and die.
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| What spectacular specimens |
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| Some signage |
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| Glory in 3's |
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| Generations of blooms to come |
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| The future |
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| In full-bloom |
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| Brilliant purple disc and ray flowers make for a fabulous inflorescence |
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| Botanical beauty |
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| Perfect timing |
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| Up close and personal |
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| A family for the next generation |
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| Splendid |
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| Notice the old leaves still lagging on the steam |
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| Growing on the volcanic rocks |
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| Old leaves protect phloem and xylem from the every changing temperatures |
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| Close and personal, again |
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| Small hairs show more adaptations to their environment |
Some of the unique flora of Haleakala
"Over 850 species of plants are found within the bounds of Haleakala National Park. Of these, over 400 species are native, or arrived without human intervention; over 300 species are endemic to Hawai'i, found only in the islands. This astonishing diversity reflects the variety of climates and elevations that allowed plants to fill niches from dry alpine deserts to humid, salt-sprayed coastlines. Plant communities formed in some of the most unlikely dry deserts and lush rainforests. Ethereal silverswords, bird-pollinated geraniums, Seussian na'ena'e and mintless mints are a few of the amazing plants that evolved in the unique and diverse environment on Haleakala."
