in a red clay soil amongst thick campos vegetation. It shares its range and habitat with another dwarf palm; Allagoptera leucocalyx. It grows in an area that often sees heavy downpours (in the summer), and moderate frosts in winter. It has been recorded growing at altitudes of 790-920m. Its habitat is severely fragmented. Ecology It fruits in the summer. The fruits were found in abundance in the faeces of the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous, 27% of total mass) and the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus, 28% of total mass). Bees visiting the flowers in Vila Velha State Park in Ponta Grossa, Paraná, include Ceratalictus clonius, Ceratalictus stigon, Ceratalictus sp. and Dialictus spp.. The Dialictus spp. were only found on Butia microspadix. Uses It is collected by palm enthusiasts as an ornamental plant and seed has sometimes been available from specialist retailers since at least 2015, if not earlier. It is said to be very ornamental. It is difficult to germinate, the seeds having low viability and taking more than 6 months to germinate. It is very slow-growing. USDA hardiness zone 9b. It is advised to plant the palms in full sunlight. It is said to take -5 °C, but should be protected at 0 °C in the Netherlands. Conservation In 1979 Glassman claimed that the species appeared to be quite abundant in Paraná, apparently based on comments by Hatschbach. In 1995 the Secretaria de Estado do Meio Ambiente of the state of Paraná, in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (a German foreign development agency), rated the species as 'rare' in the state of Paraná. In 2008 the species was rated as 'data deficient' by the Ministério do Meio Ambiente of the federal government. In 2012 the Centro Nacional de Conservação da Flora rated the conservation status for Brazil as 'vulnerable', primarily due to habitat loss due to the pressure of agricultural expansion (although the actual extent of loss was yet unclear at the time). In a 2017 dissertation by Marcelo Piske Eslabão the species is said to ought to be considered 'vulnerable' as the IUCN categories B1ab (i, ii, iii) and B2ab (i, ii, iii) applied; this means that the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy (see distribution above) were below a certain threshold, and that according to Eslabão the population was in decline. Its habitat is severely fragmented. According to Alberto Leonardo Barkema, a Brazilian expert