Ilex mathewsii
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Ilex mathewsii faces significant pressure from habitat conversion as cloud forests are cleared for agriculture and cattle ranching throughout its Andean range. The species' restricted distribution across fragmented montane ecosystems makes populations particularly vulnerable to localized deforestation events. Climate change poses an additional threat as warming temperatures force suitable habitat zones to shift upslope, potentially reducing available growing areas for this elevation-dependent holly.
Habitat
Ilex mathewsii inhabits cloud forests and humid montane woodlands in the Andes, typically occurring at elevations between 1,500-3,000 meters. The species thrives in the moist, fog-shrouded environments characteristic of these high-altitude ecosystems, often growing as an understory shrub or small tree in mixed temperate forests.