Genetic risk and the transition to cultivation in Cape endemic crops-The example of honeybush (Cyclopia)?

Many endemic Cape plant species are commercially valuable, but information required to manage the resources is often lacking. Here I consider the potential genetic risk that the transition to cultivation may pose for Cape endemic plants and use honeybush - which is based on the members of the Cape endemic genus Cyclopia - as an example. The honeybush industry is expanding, in part driven by the transition from wild harvesting to cultivation. This change offers substantial environmental and economic benefits but may pose risks to wild populations through genetic contamination. I discuss (1) the importance of maintaining genetic diversity and structure of wild populations, (2) the levels of genetic structuring we might expect within the members of the genus Cyclopia, (3) the potential threats to genetic diversity, (4) suggestions for minimising genetic contamination of wild populations by cultivated plantations, and (5) why these issues may be important for the honeybush industry. (C) 2016 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.