The outstandingly speciose epiphytic flora of a single strangler fig (Ficus crassiuscula) in a Peruvian montane cloud forest

An unprecedented total of 190 holo-epiphytic and five hemi-epiphytic vascular plant species were collected from the canopy and the trunk of a single strangler fig ( Ficus crassiuscula ) in a Peruvian montane cloud forest. A large majority of the vascular species were rare in occurrence, suggesting a high proportion of patchily distributed species within the cloud forest. One hundred and fourteen of the vascular epiphyte species were orchids, 37 species were ferns, and 17 species were bromeliads. Seventy-three of the orchid species belonged to the Pleurothallidinae. Perú is one of the global strongholds of remaining unmodified tropical montane cloud forest. However, cloud forest studies on any topic emanating from Perú are relatively rare. The outstanding epiphyte species richness of a single tree highlights both the importance of cloud forests for global biodiversity, and the urgency for more research and conservation initiatives within the cloud forests of Perú. INTRODUCTION Peruvian montane cloud forests are one of the global strongholds of remaining unmodified tropical montane cloud forest (Mulligan, this volume). However, they have received comparatively little scientific attention until now (e.g. Frahm, 1987: Leo, 1995; Weng et al . 2004; Gomez-Peralta et al ., 2008) and are under increasing threat of deforestation (Young and León, 1995; Mulligan, this volume). The extinction rate of plant species through cloud forest removal in Perú is unknown because most cloud forests have not been botanically prospected (Honorio and Reynel, 2004). Epiphyte flora makes up a large component of plant diversity in Andean forests (Gentry and Dodson, 1987a; Kelly et al ., 1994; Bussmann, 2001; Nieder et al ., 2001, cf. Gradstein et al ., this volume; Krömer and Gradstein, this volume).