Achyranthes splendens (Ahinahina in Hawaiian) is an endangered Hawaiian endemic plant in the same family as amaranth. This species occurs only on the Hawaiian islands, growing at low to moderate altitudes typically along western and southern coasts in relatively dry habitats. While the inflorescence I had to photograph is missing flowers (they fall off pretty rapidly and easily) the flowers when blooming are light green and barely distinct from the rest of the inflorescence without quite close inspection. They are not as much appreciated for the flowers as they are for the beautiful tomentose foliage which presents a shifting metallic sheen overlaying the green leaf tissue. Sadly, like many Hawaiian plants, this easily-grown species is still threatened by habitat loss, and with its decreasing population may follow in the steps of its relative Achyranthes atollensis which was made extinct through civilian and military development in 1964.
