Fine-arts photographer Olivier Koning showed one of his favorite photos to Kristin Lipman at the opening-night reception for “The First Hawaiians: Native Plants + Pohaku,” Thursday at the Dawson Offices in Pioneer Plaza. The photo shows one of Hawaii’s rarest endemic plants, the alula, which is believed to be extinct in the wild but survives in the gardens of island botanists. The exhibition’s title reminds us that rocks, or pohaku, and plants were here before the first humans arrived.

John Berger’s “On the Scene” photos run throughout the week. Contact him at jberger@staradvertiser.com.