Premise of the study: Cinnamomum camphora is an evergreen tree distributed in southern Japan, Taiwan, and southeastern China. Because of its vast utilization and cultivation, the natural distribution area of this species has been controversial.
Methods and results: I isolated and characterized 22 microsatellite loci in C. camphora. Levels of polymorphism were evaluated in 104 adult trees from three populations in Japan: Meiji Jingu (Shinto Shrine), Kajiya Plantation, and Manazuru Peninsula. The mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 4.1 to 8.0 among populations. The mean observed and expected heterozygosities per population ranged from 0.53 to 0.60 and 0.55 to 0.68, respectively.
Conclusions: All of 22 loci showed a clear and strong single band for each allele, and revealed a useful degree of polymorphism. The microsatellite markers described here will be useful to study the history, population dynamics, mating system, and genetic structure of C. camphora.