(Left): Lau olopua. Note the “limu” on the back of the lau. Native pūpū, now gone from this area, would have cleaned the lau. – Photo: C.F.P. | (Center): Hua olopua. – Photo: Forest and Kim Starr | (Right): Pua Olopua. – Photo: JB Friday.
Found on our main islands, olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis) prefers areas that are “kinda dry, kinda wet, and not too low, not too high.” Its pointy lau are on the big side, and attractive for their shiny top surfaces.
For some reason, their undersides host colonies of limu, fungus and algae that, in the past, were kept clean by pūpū kuahiwi (endemic tree snails). Lāʻau olopua is hard and durable, and was used for a variety of purposes, from the handles of koʻi (adzes), to ʻōʻō (digging sticks). Our wide variety of endemic trees were used for a numerous household needs by both aliʻi and makaʻāinana.
An important footnote to this story is that our pae ʻāina once hosted hundreds of species of endemic tree snails, ranging from exotically colored and striped or zigzagged shells to drab liʻiliʻi ones easily overlooked. Tree snails were tiny vacuum cleaners, their radula, rasping mouth parts, scraping off bits of foods from the lau of plants like the olopua.
The fanciest pūpū, Achatinella species, dwelt on Oʻahu. Valley and ridge, ma uka and ma kai, all had their own households of particular pūpū busily cleaning their favorite lau.
Then came rats and a horrible invasive snail, Euglandina rosea, with large appetites for pūpū.
Many, many species of pūpū kuahiwi are nalowalo (lost). Auē. But the Snail Extinction Prevention Program (SEPP) is active, and we mahalo them for their excellently dedicated work.
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