Gasteranthus orientandinus
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Gasteranthus orientandinus faces severe pressure from ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Andean cloud forests of Ecuador and Peru. Agricultural expansion, particularly cattle ranching and crop cultivation, continues to reduce its already limited montane forest habitat. Mining activities and infrastructure development pose additional threats to the remaining forest fragments where this endemic gesneriad persists.
Habitat
This endemic gesneriad inhabits humid montane cloud forests and forest edges in the eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador and northern Peru, typically at elevations between 1,500-2,800 meters. It grows as an epiphyte or terrestrial herb in the understory of these biodiverse but threatened Neotropical montane forests.