Hybridization in Epilobium (Onagraceae): the effect of clearance and re-establishment of fen carr

Abstract

A population of hybridizing Epilobium in a clearing in fen carr was observed for two years. Traditional and statistical techniques were used to identify hybrids, of which there appeared to be three, involving three parents. The identified hybrids showed correlation in abundance with that of their parents and with the successional status of the vegetation. Even what purported to be a pure E. obscurum population showed characteristics of E. palustre, suggesting a hybrid swarm, but there was evidence that selection was gradually restoring the population to its presumed pre-clearance state.

hybridizationyy, introgression, fen vegetation