Data from: Evolutionary significance of the invasion of introduced populations into the native range of Meconopsis cambrica

Studies of the genetic and evolutionary consequences of such changes are handicapped by the difficulty of identifying the surviving native populations of many species in the absence of clear morphological differences.

We investigated the relationship between putative native and introduced populations of the herbaceous perennial Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), as the isolated native populations of this species can be identified by historical and ecological evidence. In Britain the species is scarce and declining as a native but has become increasingly frequent in recent decades as a garden escape. Native populations from Spain and France were compared to native and introduced British populations using ITS and cpDNA sequences and AFLPs.