Argyroxiphium kauense

Argyroxiphium kauense, the Mauna Loa silversword or Kaʻū silversword, is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family. It is endemic to the eastern and southern slopes of Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaiʻi. A. kauense occurs in a much broader range of habitats than the closely related and better-known Haleakalā silversword (A. sandwicense macrocephalum), and is found in montane shrubland, bogs, and open mesic forest.

Argyroxiphium kauense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Argyroxiphium
Species:
A. kauense
Binomial name
Argyroxiphium kauense
(Rock & M.Neal) O.Deg. & I.Deg.

Although threatened by damage from feral pigs, goats, and mouflon sheep, most of the areas where it currently exists are now protected, and the species is actively managed by the National Park Service and Hawaiʻi State Department of Forestry and Wildlife.[2] It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. There are three known occurrences remaining, for a total of fewer than 1000 individuals.[3][4]

References
  1. Bruegmann, M.M. & Caraway, V. 2003. Argyroxiphium kauense. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 20 July 2007.
  2. DOFAW Rare Plant Conservation in Hawaiʻi: Island of Hawaiʻi Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. The Nature Conservancy
  4. Friar, E. A., et al. (2001). Population structure in the endangered Mauna Loa silversword, Argyroxiphium kauense (Asteraceae), and its bearing on reintroduction. Mol Ecol 10:7 1657.

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