Hawaii's native ecosystems have been under severe attach for well over 200 years now. Although habitat degradation has occurred (and is still occurring!!!) in many forms, native plants in Hawai'i have suffered four distinctly devastating blows to their survival in recent history:

A native Hawaiian plant is defined as one that got to Hawai'i initially via natural processes. More specifically, the species arrived by one of the "Three W's":

• Wind (by riding wind currents)
• Wing (stuck in the feathers or ingested in the stomach of a migratory bird)
• Wave (by riding ocean currents)