The Lonely Life of a Champion Tree, Aesculus glabra

Seedlings derived from two Ohio buckeyes (Aesculus glabra Willd.) trees, the National Champion growing in Illinois, USA, and the Ohio State Champion were sampled. The National Champion grows at the northern limits of the species’ native range. The Ohio State Champion grows in Huron County, Ohio, well within the eastern range of the species. We also sampled 40 adult trees growing in Ohio and Illinois. All trees were genotyped at six microsatellite loci. We found that 42 of the 44 sampled seedlings (95%) from the National Champion tree, collected over two seasons, exhibited only maternal alleles at all six microsatellite loci, indicating they were produced by self-fertilization. In contrast, all seedlings from the Ohio state champion tree (N = 48) exhibited non-maternal alleles, indicating they were produced by outcrossing. Our results suggest that when outcross pollen is not available, A. glabra will self-fertilize, but does so rarely or never when outcross pollen is available. Seed germination and early survival were similar for progeny of both champions, but seedlings from the National Champion show lower growth rates and higher mortality during a spring frost, possibly due to inbreeding depression. There was little evidence for genetic structure between trees sampled in Ohio and Illinois.