This study aims to investigate the flora of Mt. Cheonma (Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea), including Korean endemic, rare and endangered plants. To support the biodiversity and usefulness of this investigation, we checked the red list plants, floristic regional indicator plants, climate change adaptation target plants and naturalized plants, and compared composition of plant species in Mt. Cheonma with nearby mountains. Totally, we performed 22 field investigations from April 2012 to October 2014. The number of vascular plants in this region is 433 taxa and comprised of 94 families, 266 genera, 378 species, 2 subspecies, 46 varieties, and 7 forms. Among them, there are 13 endemic plants designated by Korean Forest Service, whereas only 10 taxa are endemic species by Korean Ministry of Environment (KME). According to the IUCN criteria, there are 12 rare and endangered plants composed of 9 Least Concerned (LC), 2 Vulnerable species (VU), and one Endangered species (EN) found by Korea National Arboretum (KNA). Meanwhile, 8 taxa including 7 Least Concerned (LC) were found in Red List of KME. The floristic regional indicator plants designated by KME were 49 taxa. In addition, there are 14 taxa in The Adaptable to Climate Change Plant List designated by KNA, while only 19 taxa are naturalized plants. Generally, there are 190 common taxa in Gwangju Mountains area, and only 51 taxa are distributed in Mt. Cheonma.
Genetic variation and structure of 9 subpopulations of Symplocarpus renifolius Schott ex Tzvelev on Mt. Cheonma, in Korea, were determined via starch-gel electrophoresis. The genetic diversity at 10 loci for 8 isozymes (P99=66%, A=2.26, Ho=0.212, He=0.230) was found to be considerably higher than that seen in other long-lived perennial plants. On the whole, the genotype frequencies were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Approximately 5%(θ=0.049) of the total variability was among subpopulations. The high levels of observed genetic diversity in S. renifolius were attributed to a universal outcrossing system and other specific factors like differences in age classes and widely scattered individuals around the main distribution. Heterozygosity was highest at a mid-range of elevation(450m~600m). The lowest heterozygosity at lower elevation was attributed to the possible origin of seeds transported by water from upstream regions during the monsoon season. Spatial structure in a subpopulation evidenced a strong autocorrelation between closer individuals within 3~4m of distance. This was assumed to be attributable to the restricted seed dispersal characteristics of S. renifolius. In accordance with the findings generated in this study, some implications regarding the conservation of S. renifolius at the Mt. Cheonma were also presented.