Anathallis corticicola

Since the 16th century the Atlantic rainforest has suffered from uninterrupted deforestation and has been reduced to 4% of its original area (Cribb et al. 2003). Forests on the island of Ilha da Santa Catarina have been reduced by over 50% and do not benefit from protection. The taxon was collected in area of medium human footprint (Sanderson et al. 2002). It does not appear to be commercially available although collecting from natural sources is still very common in Brazil in spite of prohibitions of international commerce of species collected in the wild (Saddi et al. 2005).

Forests on the island of Santa Catarina do not benefit from any protection and this species was not collected within any conservation units. Conservation efforts have been so far only limited in the region. Extensive habitat restoration and expansion of protected areas is needed for the establishment of corridors (Filho and Leme 2006).

It is not known whether the taxon is cultivated ex situ in botanical institutions. This orchid is currently listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Field surveys should be conducted at the type locality and in remnants of primary rainforest on the island to determine if the taxon is still extant. Urgent conservation actions appears to be needed for this species.