Gasteranthus timidus
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Gasteranthus timidus faces severe pressure from deforestation and habitat fragmentation across its limited range in the Andean cloud forests. Agricultural expansion, particularly cattle ranching and crop cultivation, has eliminated much of its specialized epiphytic habitat. The species' extremely restricted distribution makes it highly vulnerable to localized threats, with small population fragments increasingly isolated from one another.
Habitat
Gasteranthus timidus is endemic to humid montane cloud forests of the Andes, where it grows as an epiphyte on moss-covered tree trunks and branches. The species requires the consistently moist, fog-shrouded conditions found at elevations between 1,500-2,500 meters in these specialized ecosystems.