The Word of the Day is "Āhinahina"

Credit: Depositphotos.com/Marek Poplawski

Aloha mai kākou,

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can get back into the groove before the Christmas holidays arrive. Is it just me or has this year gone by so fast? It’s a little nippy here in Hawai`i, though nippy means 68 degrees F to me! Lol! Today’s word of the day, is “`āhinahina” (ahh hee na hee na meaning ‘very gray’), the Hawaiian word for the Silversword plant, that grows atop of Haleakalā National park, on the island of Maui. Listed as an endangered plant, its silvery velvety leaves are as beautiful as the place itself. It grows anywhere from an elevation of 7,000 to 10,000 ft., and it's found on Haleakalā (ha lay ah kah lahh, house of the rising sun) and Mauna Kea (mao na kay yah, white mountain). Conservative measures have brought the plant back from near extinction. So, like other delicate native plants, it is important to adore its beauty from afar.

A hui hou,

Haunani