The biota of Hawaiian Islands is derived entirely from long distance dispersal, often followed by in situ speciation. Species descended from each colonist constitute monophyletic lineages that have diverged to varying degrees under similar spatial and temporal constraints. We partitioned the Hawaiian angiosperm flora into lineages and assessed morphological, ecological, and biogeographic characteristics to examine their relationships to variation in species number (S). Lineages with external bird dispersal (through adhesion) were significantly more species-rich than those with abiotic dispersal, but only weakly more species-rich than lineages with internal bird dispersal (involving fleshy fruits). Pollination mode and growth form (woody vs. herbaceous) had no significant effect on S, in contrast to studies of angiosperm families. S relates positively to the geographic and ecological range size of whole lineages, but negatively to local abundance and mean range sizes of constituent species. Species-rich lineages represent a large proportion of major adaptive shifts, although this appears to be an artifact of having more species. Examination of 52 sister species pairs in numerous lineages provides evidence for allopatric (including peripheral isolates) and parapatric (ecological) modes, with 15 cases of each. Although postspeciational dispersal may obscure these modes in many of the remaining cases, instances of sympatric and hybrid speciation are also discussed. Because speciation is both a consequence and a cause of ecological and biogeographic traits, speciation mode may be integral to relationships between traits. We discuss the role of speciation in shaping the regional species pool.