A six foot silversword has just come into flower in a small arboretum at Puu Kihe directly above Kukaiau ranch.

In the enclosure are six silversword plants, grown from seed brought from Haleakala in 1936 by L. W. Bryan of Hilo. One plant bloomed last year and from its seeds Mr. Bryan now has six seedlings in the Hilo nursery.

The silversword once was one of the most common plants on the heights of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai, according to Mr. Bryan, but they have been wiped out by the wild sheep and goats.

He plans to take the nursery seedlings to the Pohakuloa area and fence them in at a spot where the public may see them when they bloom.