Population structure of Betula albosinensis and Betula platyphylla: evidence for hybridization and a cryptic lineage

摘要

Background and AimsDifferences in local abundance and ploidy level are predicted to impact the direction of introgression between species. Here, we tested these hypotheses on populations of Betula albosinensis (red birch) and Betula platyphylla (white birch) which were thought to differ in ploidy level, the former being tetraploid and the latter diploid.