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Begonias in Paradise
May 2000
As part of their ongoing study of the diverse and horticulturally important begonia family, BBG scientists and colleagues traveled to the islands of Hawaii in May to collect leaf samples to be studied using DNA analysis.
Rainforest on Kauai, Hillebrandia habitat and area where Jurassic Park was filmed
The begonia family (Begoniaceae) consists of three genera: the genus Begonia, which includes some 1,400 species spread throughout the tropics and subtropics; the genus Symbegonia, with 12 species in New Guinea; and the genus Hillebrandia, which is represented by a single species, Hillebrandia sandwicensis, found only in the Hawaiian islands. BBG's scientists, together with scientists from Ithaca College, have hypothesized that Hillebrandia or its predecessor arrived on the current Hawaiian islands via "island hopping" from now-submerged islands northwest of the current islands.
To test their theory, the scientists—BBG's horticultural taxonomist Dr. Mark Tebbitt and research technician Dr. James Yeadon, together with Dr. Susan Swensen, Biology Professor at Ithaca College, and two Ithaca College students—visited the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Molokai. There they worked with scientists from the National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Nature Conservancy to collect dried leaf samples from about 150 individual Hillebrandia sandwicensis plants found at geographically scattered sites.
Hillebrandia sandwicensis
They are now extracting and analyzing DNA from these plants, to detect the genetic variations among the specimens from the different areas of the islands. If Hillebrandia has indeed been slowly island hopping, the scientists expect to find greater genetic diversity among the specimens from the older islands, and less diversity in the younger islands. Their studies, which should be completed in about 18 months, will provide valuable information about plant dispersal, including information critical to future conservation and management of Hillebrandia.