Does the critically endangered Rhododendron amesiae deserve top priority for conservation?

Yi-Shan Ao; Yu-Hang Chang; De-Tuan Liu; Yong-Bo Liu; Yong-Peng Ma

doi:10.1016/j.pld.2022.09.005

Does the critically endangered Rhododendron amesiae deserve top priority for conservation?

Plant Divers. 2022 Sep 24;44(6):625-628. doi: 10.1016/j.pld.2022.09.005. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Authors

Yi-Shan Ao^{1

2}, Yu-Hang Chang^{1

2}, De-Tuan Liu^{1

2}, Yong-Bo Liu³, Yong-Peng Ma¹

Affiliations

¹ Yunnan Key Laboratory for Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.
² University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.

Abstract

1.If a threatened plant has the problem of inaccurate species delimitation, its conservation programs that have previously been implemented might be debated.2.We made a comprehensive comparison of the critically endangered R. amesiae and its close relative R. concinnum, employing both morphological and population genomic data (ddRAD-seq).3.We suggest that the critically endangered R. amesiae can be merged into R. concinnum. Hence, the threatened status of R. amesiae is needed to be reevaluated.

Publication types

Case Reports