Bulbophyllum bifarium, or Two-Sided Bulbophyllum, is an epiphytic

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

 (occasionally lithophytic

Lithophyte

Lithophytes are a type of plant that grows in or on rocks. Lithophytes feed off moss, nutrients in rain water, litter, and even their own dead tissue....

) plant species in the Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

 family, flowering in November and endemic to Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s and subtropical or tropical moist montane

Montane

In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

s, where it is threatened by habitat loss. It was described in 1864 by Joseph Dalton Hooker.

Range and habitat

B. bifarium is found exclusively in the submontane and montane forests of Cameroon, at altitudes between 800 and 1,800 meters, where it occupies a land area in excess of 2,000 square km. Sites where B. bifarium specimens have been collected include: along the Douala

Douala

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

 to Bimbia

Bimbia

Bimbia was an independent state of Isubu people of Cameroon, in 1884 annexed by the Germans and incorporated in the colony of Kamerun.It lies in Southwest Region, to the south of Mount Cameroon and to the west of the Wouri estuary.-Origins:...

 road; Mfongu near Bagangu; Bana-Bateha near Fibé; Nkokom Massif near Ndom

Ndom

Ndom is a language spoken on Yos Sudarso Island in Papua province, Indonesia. It is reported to have numbers in senary . A problem from the 2007 International Linguistics Olympiad focused on this number system.- External links :*...

; Nyasoso on Mount Kupe; Kodmin in the Bakossi Mountains; and on Mount Cameroon

Mount Cameroon

Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in Cameroon near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako or by its native name Mongo ma Ndemi ....

.

It is likely that B. bifarium is already extinct

Extinction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...

 in many of the lower-altitude areas within its traditional range. This is mainly blamed on encroaching small-holder farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

 and plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

ventures, which clear the forestlands where the species lives. Habitats at the higher altitudes, such as at Kodmin, tentatively afford some measure of protection from these harms, and support a more thriving population.