To appreciate the flora of Hawaii, you must understand how plant life came to the islands, and more importantly where it started its journey.

Biogeographers — scientists that study the geographic distributions of organisms throughout time — examine questions like these. A contemporary of Charles Darwin, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, referring to the Malay Archipelago, mused in 1863 in “The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society (Vol. 33)” that: “An accurate knowledge of any group of birds or insects, and of their geographical distribution may assist us to map out the islands and continents of a former epoch. …”

Biogeography gives you a chance to reconstruct the world as it was millions of years ago. In a way it functions like a time machine. Arguably biogeography influences evolution. Oceanic islands, like Hawaii, are ­often touted as natural laboratories to study biogeography and evolution. This is due to their isolation and variety of habitats. So where did our native plants originate, and how did they get to Hawaii?

Starting in the late 1800s scientists began to think about the origins of our flora. Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler and Dr. William Hillebrand were the first to work on this. Surprisingly, prior to the understanding of volcanic hot spots, it was assumed that Hawaii was connected to other land masses via land bridges that have since disappeared. In the late 1960s, botanist Sherwin Carlquist proposed that plants were dispersed to Hawaii via three long-distance mechanisms: air flotation, oceanic drift or by birds.

Most native species have an origin in either Southeast Asia, the Americas (which include subarctic areas), Australia and New Zealand, or other Pacific islands. These regions were originally selected based upon morphological similarities. However, scientists now compare DNA sequences to reconstruct these relationships. Violets, or members of the genus Viola, have a particularly interesting origin.

There are about 652 species of Viola that are widespread in temperate and some tropical regions. They are easy to identify with pentamerous symmetric flowers. The lower petal has a spur where nectar collects to ensure that pollinators can complete their task. They have dry fruits in the form of a capsule that opens into three pieces revealing small black seeds. In some species the seeds have a structure called an elaiosome that contains lipids and proteins. This is quite enticing to ants which will take them back to their nest and effectively function as seed dispersers. Our native violets are not known to have these structures.

There are seven to nine species of Viola, depending on the authority, in Hawaii. They can be found on all the main islands, except ­Kahoolawe and Niihau. Native violets thrive in several habitats, which include dry and wet forests, and bogs. Using DNA sequences, it has been determined that all species are related to Viola langsdorffii, also known as the Alaskan or Aleutian violet. This species ranges from subarctic America to the western United States. It was most likely carried to the Hawaiian Islands by migratory birds flying in from subarctic regions. An example is the kolea, or Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva).

Most of the native violet species are woody, unlike their continental relatives. This phenomenon is not uncommon in Hawaii and may reflect the unique habitat that the species is found in or provide a competitive edge by elevating its leaves above the rest.

Unfortunately, most ­Hawaiian violets are endangered or occur in sensitive habitats. If you would like to see these or other amazing native plants, please consider volunteering with a local conservation organization once it is safe to do so.

Jesse Adams is a botanist at the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum, where he works to catalogue, propagate and conserve the plant diversity found there.