Biosystematics and conservation: a case study with two enigmatic and uncommon species of Crassula from New Zealand.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Crassula hunua and C. ruamahanga have been taxonomically controversial. Here their distinctiveness is assessed so that their taxonomic and conservation status can be clarified. METHODS: Populations of these two species were analysed using morphological, chromosomal and DNA sequence data. KEY RESULTS: It proved impossible to differentiate between these two species using 12 key morphological characters. Populations were found to be chromosomally variable with 11 different chromosome numbers ranging from 2n = 42 to 2n = 100. Meiotic behaviour and levels of pollen stainability were both variable. Phylogenetic analyses showed that differences exist in both nuclear and plastid DNA sequences between individual plants, sometimes from the same population. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that these plants are a species complex that has evolved through interspecific hybridization and polyploidy. Their high levels of chromosomal and DNA sequence variation present a problem for their conservation.