Prumnopitys ladei is a rare popocarp tree which occurs in remnants of primary rainforest  within an extent of occurrence of 161 km. The area of occupancy when estimated on the basis of known (collected) localities using a 2 km wide grid (as recommended by IUCN) would be 28 km² but it is here considered smaller because the tree is very rare and scattered. Its total population would not exceed 1,000 mature trees. It therefore meets the criterion D1 for listing as Vulnerable.

Recorded from Mt. Lewis, Mt. Spurgeon and a few other localities nearby in northeast Queensland, Australia. The extent of occurrence is only 161 km² and the area of occupancy about 16 km².

This species is a rare tree occurring in localized and small subpopulations in remnants of evergreen rainforest. The population has declined in the past (but no rates or quantities are known) but this decline has recently ceased as remaining rainforest is coming under legal protection with the increase in and expansion of conservation areas in Queensland. The rarity of this tree was apparent on a recent visit by the author of this assessment to Mt. Lewis (guided by a local botanist who had marked the locality on the track with pink straps) when at this locality not more than five mature trees were found in one hour of search by three people (A. Farjon pers. obs.) . In addition, some seedlings and saplings were present. It is unlikely that the global population exceeds 1,000 trees.

This rare species is restricted to (remnants of) rainforest habitat mainly on two mountains in northeast Queensland. These mountains are granitic outcrops in the Atherton Tableland. The altitudinal range of the species is between 930 m and 1,400 m a.s.l. The rainforest on these mountains is dominated by angiosperms with scattered podocarps: Podocarpus smithii, Prumnopitys ladei and Sundacarpus amarus. Prumnopitys ladei is the rarer of these species. The seeds are eaten by native rats (Cooper and Cooper 1994).

The surviving rainforests on both mountains are now partly within protected areas. Logging has almost certainly reduced the area of occupancy (AOO) of Prumnopitys ladei on Mt. Lewis, presently the smaller of the two subpopulations. In 1974 a herbarium collection was made within the "North Mary Logging Area" of State Forest Reserve 143 (B.P.M. Hyland 7882); this implies that logging of primary forest was then still undertaken and it would not have spared this species. Several of these logging areas existed there between 1960-1980 according to data on herbarium labels.

The wood of this species is used for construction and carpentry, but it is too rare to be of much economic importance. It is said to have potential as an ornamental tree but is rarely used in that capacity and may not be present outside botanical collections.

This species is present in two protected areas on Mts. Lewis and Spurgeon. Protected areas of primary rainforest are being expanded, but it is not known at present whether this will eventually include all known individual trees of this species. It is listed as Near Threatened under the Queensland Governments Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2010 (Bostock and Holland 2010).