Do the introductions by botanical gardens facilitate the invasion of Solidago canadensis (Asterceae) in China?

Abstract

SummaryMany invasive plants have long been suspected of firstly being introduced and cultivated by a local botanical garden or nursery and then escaping into the field after adapting to the novel environment. The role of botanical gardens in the spread of invasive plants has not yet been explored experimentally. In this article, we studied the possible roles of two botanical gardens in the spread of invasive Solidago canadensis (Asterceae) in China by analysing genetic relationships of invasive and native (United States) populations with intersimple sequence repeats markers. Our results showed a high genetic variation (mean He = 0.292) and a large proportion of genetic variation (85.6%) residing within populations. Solidago canadensis was possibly introduced firstly into eastern China. The plants from Lushan Botanical Garden showed distant genetic distance from all of the other populations, suggesting that this botanical garden had little effect on the invasion of S. canadensis. Populations from Wuhan Botanical Garden in central China, however, showed close genetic relationships with local populations and populations in west and south‐west China, suggesting gene exchange between these populations. Thus, risk assessment is critical for plant introduction and conservation, as introductions of alien plants by botanical gardens may facilitate plant invasions, while plants conserved in botanical gardens may be at risk by surrounding plant invasions.