[3] The silversword alliance provides a convincing natural case study in evolution by adaptive radiation, with the greensword representing one extreme of the genus' plasticity.

[5] However, A. grayanum is a bog plant adapted to very different conditions – excessive moisture, lack of regular sunlight, and cool temperatures, and its leaves are non-succulent like those of the related genus Dubautia.

[7] It occurs only in and around montane cloud forest bogs at elevations ranging from about 1,200 to 2,050 m. The sites receive from about 300 to over 1,000 cm precipitation per year.

[5] Despite their close relationship and shared habitat, the two species differ in several ways beyond the coloring of their lance-shaped leaves, with silversword possessing a distinctive sheen.

[11] Based on biosystematics and molecular studies, all of the silversword alliance species are thought to have evolved from a single ancestor, related to the tarweed (Carlquistia muirii) found in western North America.