Flowers are pinched from the vines in early morning for Hawaiian lei-making ... petals and corolla and then arranging in a circular pattern). I was blissfully oblivious to any cryptic symbolism.

While one set of dancers move clockwise, another dances counterclockwise, resulting in a moving pattern ... is made up flowers, leaves, shells or feathers. Deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture ...

Flower chains were brought to the Hawaiian islands by Polynesian voyagers ... Traditional leis tend to be uniform in flora and pattern, but Harunaga, 39, favors color-blocked and asymmetrical ...

They originate from Central America and have thrived on the Hawaiian islands since 1860. It’s a common misconception that flowers like these used in iconic leis are native, says Oʻahu-based lei ...