| Eschscholzia is a New World poppy genus, composed of 12 recognized species, which include some ornamental taxa in the Western hemisphere while simultaneously being naturalized and invasive in the Eastern and Southern hemispheres. The natural range reduction due to habitat losses in California, cultivation of the California poppy, and escape from cultivation outside the native range have influenced the patterns of diversification in the California poppy (E. californica). Isolation and gene flow mediated by human translocation have resulted in complex patterns of relatedness between California poppy populations. Thus, population structure and knowledge of ancestral California poppy populations remain poorly resolved. Prior to understanding the dynamics between native, naturalized, and invasive populations of California poppies, analyses of maternal and nuclear genomes were conducted. The research presented in this dissertation first presents patterns of relatedness and population structure inferred using chloroplast (cpDNA) haplotypes, AFLP fingerprints, and large scale next-generation sequence based genotypes prior to evaluating the species limits within currently accepted E. californica. |
