The Magazine of the Arnold Arboretum - Arnoldia - Harvard University

Dawn Redwood at the Dawes Arboretum 33
genetic isolation due to habitat fragmentation
(Leng et al. 2007). As stated earlier, natural
pollen dissemination is limited.
Since these wide-ranging Chinese collections
are located together in a single plantation
at Dawes, broad genetic combinations could
occur. The resultant mixed, open-pollinated
seeds could prove useful for horticultural purposes
as well as for selecting for resistance to
any future insect or disease pressures. These
seeds would have limited use for some conservation
projects (since they are from mixed
meta-populations), but there is potential for
controlled crossing within the separate seed
lot collections, which would give greater conservation
value. The seeds produced here will
be made available to seed banks, researchers,
and growers.
This collection holds many opportunities
for future studies and research to be conducted
without traveling to China. The sister
population at Rutgers University is currently
the subject of an amplified fragment length
polymorphism (AFLP) analysis to assess the
breadth of the genetic diversity of the collection.
Since most of the genotypes at Rutgers
are duplicates of dawn redwoods in the collection
at Dawes, the data from the AFLP study
will pertain to this collection as well. We hope
that this successful ex situ collection at the
Dawes Arboretum will aid in the conservation
and further understanding of this ancient and
impressive species.
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Greg Payton is the Plant Records Specialist at the Dawes
Arboretum in Newark, Ohio.