Blakea acostae
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Blakea acostae faces severe threats from ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation within its extremely limited range in Costa Rica's montane cloud forests. Agricultural expansion, particularly coffee cultivation and cattle ranching, continues to encroach upon the remaining forest fragments where this endemic shrub persists. The species' restricted distribution makes it exceptionally vulnerable to localized habitat destruction, with even small-scale clearing events potentially eliminating entire subpopulations.
Habitat
Blakea acostae is endemic to the montane cloud forests of Costa Rica's Cordillera de Talamanca, occurring at elevations between 1,800-2,400 meters. This specialized shrub requires the consistently humid, fog-shrouded conditions characteristic of these high-altitude tropical forests, growing in the understory and forest edges of primary and well-developed secondary cloud forest.
