Distribution of Male and Female Populations of Lunularia cruciate (Lunulariaceae) in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

This is the third report of the naturalized bryophyte species, Lunularia cruciata (Lunulariaceae) occurring in Hokkaido, Japan. A field survey was conducted in Sapporo City in 2023, and the collected sterile samples were examined for the sex of each population using a molecular biological method of sex-discriminating PCR primers. The result shows that one female population and six male ones were distributed at the survey site. This indicates that this method is effective for distinguishing between males and females of L. cruciata, and is expected to contribute to elucidating the distribution of male and female populations of this species.