Glehnia Apiaceae

Glehnia, a taxon restricted to eastern Asia and western North America, consists of either two species, the Asian G. littoralis Fr. Schmidt ex Miq. and the North American G. leiocarpa Mathias, or two subspecies of G. littoralis, subsp. littoralis and subsp. leiocarpa. The Asian taxon occurs on sandy beaches of China and Japan, with the North American taxon occupying the same type of habitat from northern California to the northeastern coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, and west to Kodiak Island (Fig. 4.9). Both taxa are diploids with n=ll. 

The availability of North American specimens of Glehnia made it possible to compare coumarin and acetylene profiles of this widely disjunct system (Hiraoka et al., 2002). Analysis of plant material collected from four widely separated sites, that is, northern California, central Oregon, northern Washington, and northeastern Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, revealed a profile characterized by low levels of furanocoumarins and a comparatively high level of panaxynol. The results are similar to those that characterize the southern Japanese form. The North American 

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