Andreettaea delicatula

Wet broadleaf forest is threatened across much of this species' range, in the central highlands and Blue Mountains. In the central highlands, bauxite and limestone mining are one of the most significant threats to remaining areas of unprotected forest (Schipper 2024). Much of the Cockpit Country is protected from mining within the Cockpit Country Conservation Area, but still experiences small-scale encroachment for shifting agriculture, illegal selective logging, and degrading activities such as woodcutting for yam cultivation and charcoal burning, threats which are prevalent across much of central Jamaica (Newman et al. 2014, K. Campbell pers. comm. 2024, D. Luke pers. comm. 2024). In the Blue Mountains, particularly on the southern slopes, most montane forest <1,600 m asl has been cleared for agriculture, settlements, or coffee plantations, and remaining natural habitat is often secondary regrowth and/or degraded (Chai et al. 2009). Encroachment is occurring at increasingly higher elevations and on steeper slopes, particularly in the Cinchona area, and continued road construction into the interior of the mountains will likely accelerate encroachment in previously inaccessible areas (Schipper 2024). Invasive species are a significant threat in the Blue Mountains, most notably the Australian tree Pittosporum undulatum which now comprises a dominant component of most secondary or disturbed forests in and around the Cinchona area (Bellingham et al. 2018). It has been noted that P. undulatum is a poor host for epiphytes (Bellingham et al. 2018), such that invaded forests may not be able to support the same number of individuals of A. delicatula as uninvaded forests.

All orchid species are included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This species occurs within the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park and Gourie Forest Reserve (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2024). It is not held in any ex situ conservation collections (BGCI 2024).