A Pleistocene clone of Palmer's oak persisting in Southern California.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 20041136.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0008346 and PMC identifier 2796394.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The distribution of Palmer's oak (Quercus palmeri Engelm.) includes numerous isolated populations that are presumably relicts of a formerly larger range that has contracted due to spreading aridity following the end of the Pleistocene. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated a recently discovered disjunct population of Palmer's oak in the Jurupa Mountains of Riverside County, California. Patterns of allozyme polymorphism, morphological homogeneity, widespread fruit abortion, and evidence of fire resprouting all strongly support the hypothesis that the population is a single clone. The size of the clone and estimates of annual growth from multiple populations lead us to conclude that the clone is in excess of 13,000 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The ancient age of the clone implies it originated during the Pleistocene and is a relict of a vanished vegetation community. Range contraction after climate change best explains the modern disjunct distribution of Q. palmeri and perhaps other plants in California.
Medical subject headings
- Quercus