Viola cuicochensis
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Viola cuicochensis faces severe pressure from agricultural expansion and livestock grazing in its restricted Andean range. The species' limited distribution makes it particularly vulnerable to habitat conversion, while overgrazing by cattle and sheep degrades the specialized high-altitude grassland communities where it occurs. Climate change poses an additional threat as warming temperatures may force this cold-adapted violet to retreat to increasingly smaller areas of suitable habitat at higher elevations.
Habitat
This endemic violet inhabits high-altitude páramo grasslands and alpine meadows in the Andes of Ecuador, typically occurring between 3,200-4,000 meters elevation. It grows in moist, well-drained soils among native bunch grasses and cushion plants in these specialized montane ecosystems.