Guzmania harlingii
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Guzmania harlingii faces severe pressure from deforestation and habitat conversion in Ecuador's cloud forests, where its epiphytic lifestyle makes it entirely dependent on mature forest canopy structure. Agricultural expansion and logging activities have fragmented its already limited range, while climate change threatens to shift the optimal elevation zones where this bromeliad can survive. The species' slow growth rate and specialized pollination requirements make population recovery particularly challenging once local extinctions occur.
Habitat
Guzmania harlingii is an epiphytic bromeliad endemic to the cloud forests of Ecuador, typically found growing on tree branches and trunks in montane rainforest between 1,500-2,500 meters elevation. The species requires the high humidity and stable temperatures characteristic of these mist-shrouded ecosystems, where it forms part of the diverse epiphyte communities that characterize Andean cloud forest canopies.
