2010 Volume 85 Issue 3 Pages 180-185
Salicornia europaea L. (Chenopodiaceae) grows in saline places along seashores in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In Japan, S. europaea is disjunctively distributed in eastern Hokkaido and in the Seto Inland Sea (Setouchi) area. The populations of S. europaea in Setouchi area have been thought to be introduced from Hokkaido by Kitamae Ships (trader ships between Hokkaido and Setouchi areas in the 19th century). In order to clarify the origin of S. europaea in the Setouchi area, we analyzed phylogenetic relationships among populations of S. europaea in Hokkaido, the Setouchi area, and Korea by using DNA sequence data of nrITS, atpB-rbcL and trnLtrnF. The haplotypes in Setouchi area were identical with those in Korea, and different from those in Hokkaido by three deletions and one or two substitutions. The results clearly reject the hypothesis that S. europaea in the Setouchi area is derived from Hokkaido.
