Pepeopae


Pēpēōpae is a bog on the island of Molokai in Hawaii.

Description

Pēpēōpae is located near the summit of Kamakou peak in eastern Molokai at an elevation of about at. Poorly draining acidic soil leaches of nutrients, rainfall that exceeds, cooler temperatures and high winds have resulted in a bog where the canopy has been reduced to plants that are only inches above the ground. Typical forest canopy trees such as ōhia lehua and ōlapa can be found as groundcover, crawling along the surface.
Pēpēōpae bog is home to several endemic and endangered plant and animal species, including the Hawaii bog violet, alani, sedges, lepelepe a moa, among many others. Endemic Drosophila species, wingless flies, and damselflies can also be found in the bog.
The bog is contained within The Nature Conservancy's Kamakou Preserve, and access to the boardwalk is limited to scheduled guided tours, due to the fragile nature of the ecosystem and extreme risk due to introduced alien species.
In the Hawaiian language, pēpē ōpae means "shrimp crushed".