Dendrophthora ovata
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Dendrophthora ovata faces severe population decline primarily due to deforestation and habitat fragmentation across its limited range in Central American cloud forests. The species' parasitic lifestyle makes it particularly vulnerable to host tree loss, as it depends entirely on specific tree species for survival. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture-dependent cloud forest ecosystems where this mistletoe thrives.
Habitat
Dendrophthora ovata is endemic to montane cloud forests of Central America, where it grows as an epiphytic parasitic plant on the branches of specific host trees. These moist, high-elevation forests provide the humid conditions essential for the species' survival and reproduction.
