Data from: Genetic diversity and multiple origins of polyploid Atriplex nummularia Lindl. (Chenopodiaceae).

The genus Atriplex has a complex evolutionary history in Australia that has included polyploidy and hybridization among perennial forms. The octoploid, dioecious species Atriplex nummularia is proposed to have evolved from an octoploid ancestor in the coastal semi-arid fringe of south-western Australia, and to have spread east and diversified into taxa which occupy edaphically different habitats.

Despite interest in the diversification of the genus, and the ecological and economic importance of A. nummularia, there are no descriptions of the genetic structure of the species. Nuclear microsatellite markers and principal coordinate analysis, analysis of molecular variance, Bayesian and phenetic analyses were used to investigate the diversity and taxonomic relationships of two common subspecies of A. nummularia. Genetic diversity was high overall (A = 509, A′ = 42.4, Ho = 0.824, H′ = 2.8), but values were significantly lower in the western subspecies, A. nummularia ssp. spathulata.