Macleania mollis
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Macleania mollis faces significant pressure from agricultural expansion and cattle ranching in the Andean cloud forests where it occurs. Deforestation for coffee cultivation and pasture development has fragmented its montane habitat, while climate change threatens to shift the narrow altitudinal zones where this epiphytic shrub can survive. The species' restricted range and specialized habitat requirements make it particularly vulnerable to ongoing habitat conversion.
Habitat
Macleania mollis inhabits Andean cloud forests and montane ecosystems, typically growing as an epiphytic shrub on trees in humid, mist-covered environments. The species occurs at elevations between 1,500-3,000 meters in the tropical montane forests of South America.
