Piper hooglandii, commonly known as kava, is a flowering plant in the family Piperaceae. The specific epithet honours Dutch botanist Ruurd Dirk Hoogland.
It is a shrub growing to 2âÂÂ3 m in height. The aromatic, alternate, heart-shaped leaves are 7âÂÂ12 cm long and 8âÂÂ13 cm wide. The flowers have no petals; the male flowering spikes are 10 cm long, the female 6 cm. The fleshy, 10 mm diameter berries are hard, red and pungently peppery when ripe. The flowering season is from September to November, with the fruit ripening from March to May.
The species is endemic to AustraliaâÂÂs subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. It is locally common as an understorey plant on basaltic soil in moist, shady conditions, from the summits of the island's mountains down to an elevation of about 50 m along streams.