Nowhere else on earth…

Today Greg & Suzanne took us to the top of Haleakala, a volcanic crater that rises to an altitude of 10,023' (3,055m). Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy, so we didn't get the spectacular views that are possible at that altitude, but to our benefit many of these endemic plants have been blooming. This one is “just past flower.” We also saw a pair of “nēnēs” (“Branta sandvicensis”, also known as “Hawaiian goose”), which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

The Silversword plant — “Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum” and “’Āhinahina” in Hawaiian — grows on the slopes of Haleakala and nowhere else in the world. A plant will live for 40–50 years, bloom, and then die.

See http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/natural-history/flora/ahinahina.html

Species page at PhytoImages, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/cgi-bin/dol/dol_terminal.pl?taxon_name=Argyroxiphium_sandwicense&rank=binomial
and all five of PhytoImages’ current images are from our trip!

This image at PhytoImages, http://phytoimages.siu.edu/imgs/paraman1/r/Asteraceae_Argyroxiphium_sandwicense_90386.html

Our ride to the top of Haleakala was a fascinating study in contrasts. We started at sea level along the coast. On the lower slopes of Haleakala we saw farmland and livestock. At the summit, the landscape would seem to be “moon-like,” very desolate. And out of the lava rock grow some plants! “Life finds a way” (from “Jurassic Park”).

1 year ago (“Blue [‘selfie’]”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-10-02
2 years ago (“Corn Earworm Moth”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-10-02
3 years ago (“Fall flowers II: ‘Chrysanthemum’”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-10-02

We have fallen into a nice “routine” with Greg & Suzanne.
» Get up and go for a run. For Clare & me, about 25–30 minutes.
» Breakfast.
» Snorkeling before the water gets too rough.
» The day’s activity(ies).
» Dinner. Tonight’s dinner was salmon and ribs. We brought some seasonings and I grilled on one of the gas grills outside our building. (Each building seems to have at least one cluster of five gas grills, which are fueled from a single propane reservoir.)

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2nd October 2014 2nd Oct 14