Author:
Lynch A. J. J.,Barnes R. W.,Vaillancourt R. E.,Cambecèdes J.
Abstract
Lomatia tasmanica W.M.Curtis is an endangered species
with only one population. The population occurs over a distance of 1.2 km and
consists of several hundred stems. Although it flowers occasionally, fruit
production has never been observed, and it propagates vegetatively. The
genetic diversity in L. tasmanica, and its relationship
with the other species of this genus in Tasmania was investigated using
allozyme analysis and chromosome counts. Sixteen isozyme loci were scored on
78 L. tasmanica plants collected from throughout the
range of the species. No genetic diversity was found in
L. tasmanica. Lomatia tinctoria
possessed 22 (2n = 22) chromosomes, like other
Lomatia species previously counted, while
L. tasmanica had 33 to 29 chromosomes, which makes it an
unstable triploid. The triploid nature of L. tasmanica
would explain its lack of genetic diversity and its apparent sterility. This
suggests that the entire species may be one genet, one of the largest plant
clone ever found. Fossilised leaves identified as
L. tasmanica by Jordan et al.
(1991) and dated as at least 43 600 years old may indicate the minimum age of
this genet. This clone maybe one the world’s oldest known living plant
individual.
Subject
Plant Science,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cited by
56 articles.
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