Meriania loxensis
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Meriania loxensis faces severe pressure from ongoing deforestation and agricultural expansion throughout its limited Andean range in Ecuador and Peru. The species' restriction to cloud forest fragments makes it particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, as remaining populations become increasingly isolated. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture regimes essential for cloud forest ecosystems, potentially shifting suitable habitat to higher elevations where less area is available.
Habitat
This endemic shrub inhabits montane cloud forests and humid upper montane forests between 1,800-3,200 meters elevation in the Andes. It requires the persistent moisture and fog characteristic of cloud forest ecosystems, typically growing in forest understory and edge habitats.