Conservation genetics and clonality in two critically endangered eucalypts from the highly endemic south-western Australian flora Original Research Article

Extensive agricultural development has endangered species diversity in the highly endemic south-western Australian flora. Many relict species with restricted distribution are now on the brink of extinction. Eucalyptus phylacis and E. dolorosa are both known from single locations within pockets of native vegetation surrounded by agricultural land. The development of appropriate conservation strategies required the appraisal of the extent of clonality within both species as well as the definition of species identity for E. phylacis. The use of RAPD analysis revealed contrasting stories for these two threatened species. E. phylacis, for which species identity was successfully established, was shown to be a single clone and as a result, possibly the rarest, largest, potentially oldest mallee eucalypt known. Whereas, despite its isolation, E. dolorosa still retained sufficient genetic variability to enable the production of highly outcrossed seed. Different conservation strategies are suggested for the two species and the importance of understanding basic genetic variability in rare clonal species is discussed.