Hibiscus tiliaceus has been used for the stabilization of sand dunes, the formation of coastal windbreaks and in some restoration projects. Hibiscus tiliaceus grows well near the ocean, by streams, and on mountainous slopes up to 800 m elevation ( Konczak, 1996 Saquet, 1996). It is also one of the most common secondary forest trees and is frequently found in disturbed forests ( Whistler, 1980). It is found on islands and coasts all over the tropical Pacific ( Whistler, 1980 Chin and Enoch, 1988). This fast‐growing tree is wind‐ and salt‐resistant and adapted to a wide range of environments. (Malvaceae), also known as sea hibiscus ( Holtum and Enoch, 1995) or tree hibiscus ( Hargreaves and Hargreaves, 1970), has its origin in the Pacific Islands ( Konczak, 1996). Received: 9 December 2002 Returned for revision: 20 February 2003 Accepted: INTRODUCTION Key words: Hibiscus tiliaceus, sea hibiscus, tree hibiscus, AFLP, genetic diversity, China. Long‐distance dispersal of floating seeds and local environments may play an important role in shaping the genetic diversity of the population and the genetic structure of this species. The indirect estimate of gene flow based on ϕ ST was moderate ( N m = 1♳95).

AMOVA analysis revealed that most genetic diversity resided within populations (84♸ %), which corresponded to results reported for outcrossing plants.

Estimates of genetic diversity agreed with life history traits of H. Across the other 125 individuals, 501 of 566 bands (88♵ %) were polymorphic, and 125 unique AFLP phenotypes were observed. No polymorphisms were found among the 20 samples of a marginal population of recent origin probably due to a founder effect. DNA from 145 individuals was amplified with eight primer pairs. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to investigate the genetic variations within and among nine natural populations of Hibiscus tiliaceus in China.

Winamova software