ABSTRACT This study provides the first comparative community‐ecological and demographic assessment of the two extant species of Tigridiopalma (Melastomataceae), both of which are classified as Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations (PSEP) and are endangered. Despite sharing similar morphological traits and habitat preferences, T. magnifica and T. exalata exhibit marked differences in floristic composition, community structure, and population dynamics, reflecting contrasting life‐history strategies and degrees of habitat specialization. By integrating analyses of floristic contribution, species associations, and demographic patterns, our findings highlight the importance of habitat context in shaping the persistence of narrowly endemic understory plants. Our results demonstrate that even closely related endangered species can adopt divergent ecological strategies. Tigridiopalma magnifica persists through broad biotic associations but appears constrained by seedling establishment, likely due to dense leaf litter or intense understory competition. In contrast, T. exalata relies on specific canopy tree associations but shows signs of reproductive limitation within resource‐poor niches. Effective in situ conservation therefore requires a shift from a species‐centric to an interaction‐centric framework, emphasizing the management of community processes rather than target species alone, specifically, facilitative interactions for T. magnifica and canopy filtering mechanisms for T. exalata .
Zou et al. (Fri,) studied this question.