Distribution & Habitat
Nidularium campo-alegrense occurs in the Parana pineforest domain in Parana and Santa Catarina at 700 to 1,500 m altitude, with an interesting disjunction in cloud forests of Espirito Santo at 1,450 m altitude. From 600 to 700 m altitude, the species makes contact with populations of N.. innocentii in a probable "hybridization zone". Here, especially in the mounains near Joinville, Santa Catarina few plants with morphological traits intermediate between N. campo-alegrense and N. innocentii were observed. These are probably natural hybrids. However, at altitudes over 1,000 m, populations of N. campo -alegrense are very distinctive, living as saxicolous plants or epiphytes in the understory of these forests at high elevations in the Serra do Mar.
Based on Raulino Reitz's collections, apparently the species was once much more common than today. In the Iquererim region, for example, N, campo-alegrense has practically become extinct due to destruction of the forests that once guaranteed its
survival. Still, in more isolated montane areas where the vegetation has been preserved, it is possible to find this comely species flowering in March and April.
The recently discovered populations in the municipality of Venda Nova do Imigrante, in Espirito Santo, are very typical and completely compatible with the concept of this taxon.
Today there are about three distinct clones of N. campo-alegrense in cultivation. —SeeLeme 2000a
