''Bulbophyllum modicum'' is a possibly

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

species in the family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

(montane subtropical or tropical dry

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s of

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...

between 900 and 1,200 meters in altitude) is threatened. It was described in 1957. All (3) confirmed collections of ''B. modicum'' come from the outskirts of the town of

Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region (Cameroon), Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako (department), Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of about 800.000 inhabitants as of 2 ...

. One other collection from Bambui (

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest Region. The city has a population of about six hundred thousand people and is located north-west of the C ...

) is

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

, and has yet to be confirmed as being this species. Possible threats to ''B. modicum'', if it is still extant, all arise from the intensive clearing of its forest habitat, whether for the purposes of obtaining

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...

, the cultivation of

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

s, or the expansion of house-building.

References

modicum Plants described in 1957 Endangered plants Endemic orchids of Cameroon Epiphytic orchids Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bulbophyllum-stub