Ocotea basicordatifolia
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Ocotea basicordatifolia faces severe pressure from deforestation and habitat conversion throughout its limited range in Central American cloud forests. Agricultural expansion, particularly cattle ranching and coffee cultivation, has fragmented the montane forest ecosystems this species depends upon. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture regimes essential for cloud forest persistence, potentially forcing suitable habitat to higher elevations where it may no longer exist.
Habitat
This species inhabits montane cloud forests and humid tropical forests at elevations typically between 1,000-2,500 meters. It requires the consistent moisture and moderate temperatures characteristic of these fog-shrouded ecosystems, often growing in association with other Lauraceae family members in the forest canopy and understory.