The Haleakala National Park on Maui, Hawaii, holds a beautiful surprise that you might not expect to find in such stark, barren conditions.

It’s the gorgeous shiny ahinahina or Silversword plant.

Found only in Maui (there’s a slightly different species on the Big Island’s Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa) the Haleakala Silversword somehow grows in the volcanic cinder soil, but it is a threatened plant and its roots can be damaged if you walk too closely to it.

I was so absorbed in trying to photograph it that I missed the signs and got a park ranger shout for getting too close, so learn from my mistake. 

While in Maui on the “So Much More Hawaii” bloggers tour (my trip was sponsored and paid for by the state Hawaii Tourism Authority) I enjoyed a ride up to the volcano summit with my local host blogger,  Liza and her family from A Maui Blog.

There’s a lot more to write about Maui in future posts, but I love these plants so much I thought I’d get a couple of photos up as quickly as I could, because they are stunning.