The
Hawaiian tropical rainforests are a
tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the
Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of in the
windward lowlands and
montane regions of the islands. Coastal mesic forests are found at elevations from sea level to . Mixed
mesic forests occur at elevations of , while wet forests are found from . Moist
bogs and
shrublands exist on montane
plateaus and
depressions. For the 28 million years of existence of the Hawaiian Islands, they have been isolated from the rest of the world by vast stretches of the
Pacific Ocean, and this isolation has resulted in the evolution of an incredible diversity of endemic species, including
fungi,
mosses,
snails,
birds, and other
wildlife. In the lush, moist forests high in the mountains, trees are draped with
vines,
orchids,
ferns, and mosses. This ecoregion includes one of the world's wettest places, the slopes of
Mount Waialeale, which average of rainfall per year.