Population genetics, demographic and evolutionary history of the Dudley's lousewort, a rare redwood forest specialist (Pedicularis dudleyi)

Pedicularis dudleyi (Dudley's Lousewort, Orobanchaceae) is an extremely rare wildflower endemic to the redwood forests of Central California. Until recently the species was known only from three extant natural populations. However, one of those populations was recently described as a novel species (P. rigginsiae D.J. Keil) based on morphological and ecological data. While little is known about the past distribution of the species, historical records have led to speculation that the species was once more widespread and may have suffered from habitat destruction as a result of widespread logging during the early twentieth century. We utilized ddrad SNP data to: 1) Describe the genetic diversity and population structure of P. dudleyi and; 2) Test the hypothesis that the species underwent a bottleneck corresponding with increased logging of redwood forests in the early twentieth century.