The Population Biology Of PELLAEA WRIGHTIANA Hooker, A Fern Disjunct In North Carolina

Pellaea wrightiana Hooker is a homosporous fern with a main range throughout most of the southwestern United States. In 1956, a small population of Pellaea wrightiana was discovered in Alexander County, North Carolina. In 1974, a second population was discovered in Stanly County. Both populations occur on south-facing rock outcrops with similar native plant species. Pellaea wrightiana has been confirmed to be a fertile, tetraploid hybrid between two diploid southwestern species, Pellaea truncata and Pellaea ternfolia. These two North Carolina populations represent the only populations east of the main range, thus genetic analyses of the two populations were conducted to test the following hypotheses: there was only one introduction into the state and one population gave rise to the other, or, there were two separate introductions.