In order to understand the relationships of tea cultivars in Fujian Province, the genetic diversities of 43 tea (Camellia sinensis) cultivars were analyzed by using 23 pairs of primers selected from the 38 pairs of SSR markers. Seven pairs of SSR primers with less amplification bands and relatively high polymorphisms were further selected to construct the fingerprints of tea cultivars. Cluster analysis showed that the 43 tea cultivars could be divided into ten groups. The farthest genetic distance is ‘Baxiancha’ and the closest genetic distance is between ‘Fuding-dahaocha’ and ‘Jiulongdabaicha’. The genetic diversity of Oolong tea cultivars was higher than that of green tea cultivars. There was high similar coefficient among cultivars originated from common parents, and usually clustered into the same group. Similarly, the cultivars originated from the same region were usually formed into the same group, while the cultivars with farther geographical distance showed large genetic distance. These would provide references for cultivars selection and genetic improvement of tea tree.
