This species was included within P. besseri Hieron. It is believed to be of hybrid origin.

This is an evergreen shrub or tree occurring in Argentina and Bolivia, where it is known from 12 to 13 locations with less than 10,000 mature individuals remaining in situ. It is found at high altitude in dry ravines, and pastures above the montane forests and in mixed Podocarpus-Alnus forests. The population of this species is fragmented. It occurs in small stands and was previously thought to be endemic to southeast Bolivia over an area less than 100 km². There are collections found in Argentina, but forest fragmentation in the Yungas is relatively low. The extent of occurrence is 46,870 km² and the area of occupancy is 60 km², both are declining. There is also an estimated 10% continuous decline in the number of mature individuals of this species over three generations. Furthermore, there is an observed decline in habitat quality. The species is known from at least one protected area, but livestock grazing is a threat to the species together with utilization for wood and fuel. At least 16% of its habitat has become unsuitable, with a potential remaining area of 33,000 km². No conservation actions have been taken to date. Here the species is assessed as Vulnerable C1.

This species is found in Argentina and Bolivia. Polylepis crista-galli is distributed from central Bolivia to Jujuy (Argentina).

Subpopulations are fragmented in some areas. There are more, not georeferenced, collections in Argentina, indicating the species might be more abundant there. There are estimates of 40 individuals per hectare. However, in patches, tree size has been reduced by human impact and the species has a low rate of regeneration through seeds. The population trend is estimated to be declining with at least a 10% decline in mature individuals over three generations (30 years). The population size is considered to be less than 10,000 mature individuals.

A tree species of dry forest streams and pastures above the montane forests. It is found in fragmented patches which follow naturally dry ravines. It mostly grows as homogeneous forest and sometimes mixed with Alnus acuminata (Kessler 1995) or Escallonia hypoglauca (Navarro et al. 2010). In Alto Calilegua (Jujuy), a stand of P. crista-galli has canopy cover of 35% and tree heights of 2–5 m height (Renison et al. 2013).

The main threats are deforestation for land conversion for pasture for livestock. Livestock are also allowed to browse on vegetation during dry periods. The vegetation it occurs in is fragmented, particularly in Bolivia where it occurs in areas of human activity and high anthropogenic pressure. At least 16% of its habitat has become unsuitable, with a potential remaining area of 33,000 km².

This species is used for wood and fuel.

This species occurs in at least one protected area. No conservation measures are known. It is recommended that these are made for the species. This species is not recorded in any ex situ collections (BGCI 2023).

Polylepis crista-galli was categorized as Vulnerable A1acd, B1+2c in the World List of Threatened Trees (Oldfield et al. 1998) and as Vulnerable B2ab(ii,iii) in the Red List of Threatened Flora of Bolivia (Arrázola and Coronado 2012). Later, it was categorized as Endangered B2ab(iii) in the Red List of Montane Tree species of the tropical Andes (Tejedor et al. 2014).