Analysis of genetic variation in a disjunct, narcotic producing, population of Duboisia hopwoodii (F. Muell.) F. Muell.

The most highly sought after source of the native drug Pituri is a single population of Duboisia hopwoodii in south-western Queensland, near the Mulligan River. Inter-simple sequence repeats and sequencerelated amplified polymorphisms were used to determine the genetic variation between 25 individuals from the Mulligan River population and a morphometric study investigated whether it is morphologically, as well as chemically, distinct. Results showed high genetic variability, refuting a hypothesis that the population contains only a few clones. However, two potential clones were identified from the genetic analysis, having only a small number of differences that could be explained by somatic mutations. The morphology of the Mulligan River population was found to be within the typical range for the variable D. hopwoodii.