GENETIC VARIATION IN THE ENDEMIC CALIFORNIA SEDGE CAREX HIRTISSIMA (CYPERACEAE)

Carex hirtissima is a perennial sedge endemic to montane forests in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges in central California. In a study of four natural populations and all known herbarium specimens from 63 herbaria, I investigated patterns of variation in allozymes, structural...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Madroño 1996-01, Vol.43 (1), p.1-14
Main Author: Waterway, Marcia J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Carex hirtissima
Endemic species
Freshwater
Genetic loci
Genetic variation
Herbaria
Plants
Ploidies
Population genetics
Sedges
Waterways
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Summary:Carex hirtissima is a perennial sedge endemic to montane forests in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges in central California. In a study of four natural populations and all known herbarium specimens from 63 herbaria, I investigated patterns of variation in allozymes, structural features and chromosome numbers. Seventeen putative enzyme-coding loci were assayed and five were found to be polymorphic. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and high positive fixation indices suggested that inbreeding is the dominant mating system. Cluster analysis of genetic distances calculated among populations showed that populations of C. hirtissima are quite similar and that this species is probably more closely related to C. gynodynama than to C. mendocinensis, two other species endemic to the California Floristic Province. Chromosome numbers were determined for C. hirtissima for the first time in this study and found to be n = 35 in one population and n - 36 in another. A new glabrous morph of C. hirtissima was found in one population, but both glabrous and pubescent morphs had the same chromosome number and similar allozyme frequencies.
ISSN:0024-9637
1943-6297