Vireya Rhododendron in plant collections in New Zealand: potential for international conservation: A project for the Peter Skellerup Plant Conservation Scholarship

摘要

New Zealand contains significant living plant collections of Rhododendron subgenus Vireya, including wild-source species, species not known to be cultivated in other countries, and species that have been internationally red-listed4. These collectionsmay have a role in international ex-situ conservation5 of this genus, but any useful contribution depends on accurate identification and presence of sufficient diversity among accessions. Potential conservation action is also confounded by complex taxonomy, which raises questions about relationships between species and therefore conservation action. In this project molecular and conventional taxonomic methods were used to examine the range of Rhododendron subgenus Vireya in New Zealand, to explore relationships between red-list species and their near relatives, and to determine whether there is sufficient diversity present for New Zealand accessions to play a useful role in the forthcoming international conservation programmes for the group. Selected results are presented and implications for conservation are considered.