WOOD GROUNDSEL, _Senecio sylvaticus_ L., a native of Europe, is a branching, weedy herb, 1-2 feet high, abundant along the foot of Kalahaku Pali. It has irregularly lobed leaves and small yellow flowers in a tight flower head, ⅓ inch long and ½ inch in diameter.
TETRAMALOPIUM. Fig. 20, illustration p. 53. This endemic genus has a dozen species, two of which are a pride of Haleakala. The small leaves are narrow and crowded at branch ends. The showy flowerheads of white, pinkish, or lavender ray florets surround a disk of purplish central florets. _T. humile_ (A. Gray) Hillebr. is found inside and outside the crater between 6,000-9,000 feet. It is a small, low, shrubby plant with narrow, spoon-shaped leaves quite covered with sticky, curly hair. The plant growing in cracks between rocks at the very summit is stiffer and considerably different.
SILVERSWORD, AHINAHINA, _Argyroxiphium sandwicense_ DC. Illustrations on cover and pages iv, 47. As famous as the crater itself, and almost as well-known, the silversword is regarded as typical of Haleakala, although its natural range embraces Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Hualalai from 7,000 to 12,000 feet. A lustrous silvery down thickly covers all leaves and makes the plant exceedingly beautiful. It is highly evolved to withstand the extreme dryness of cinder cones and the intense sunlight of lofty elevation. Surprising to most visitors on first acquaintance is the fact that it bears no relationship to the yucca of the Lily Family, but belongs to the COMPOSITAE along with sunflowers, asters, and chrysanthemums. Like _Dubautia_ and _Railliardia_, it has no close relatives outside of the islands. _Wilkesia_, endemic to Kauai, is so closely similar that some authorities class it in the genus _Argyroxphium_.
The Haleakala silversword has a short, simple, woody stem 2-3 inches in diameter crowded with thick, dagger-like leaves arranged spirally around it. After growth from 7 to as much as 20 years, a foliose raceme 3-8 feet high develops on which 100-500 flower-heads nod. Each has a central disk of hundreds of bright yellow florets surrounded by a score of short reddish-purple ray florets. The flowering season is from June through October. The whole plant dies after flowering but once.