A newly identified Queensland tree species, dubbed the “zombie tree”, is at risk of extinction, with a Maleny nursery now playing a key role in the fight to save it.
The species, formally named Rhodamnia zombi, is being threatened by the fungal disease myrtle rust, which scientists say has left the tree in a “living dead” state.
University of Queensland botanist professor Rod Fensham said it was a race against time to save the species.
“This species did not have a name when it was first assessed in 2020, and since then 10 per cent of the trees have died and none of those remaining are producing flowers or fruit because of myrtle rust,” Professor Fensham said.
Rhodamnia zombi is a small-to-medium-sized rainforest tree found in Queensland’s Burnett region.
“It has large dark green leaves, shaggy bark and hairy white flowers growing in rainforests in the Burnett region,” Professor Fensham said.
“The bright yellow fungal pathogen attacks and kills off its young shoots over and over again meaning an infected tree can’t grow or reproduce and eventually dies.”
Myrtle rust was first detected in Australia in 2010, and Rhodamnia zombi has since been added to a list of species classified as potentially critically endangered because of the disease.
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“Without any intervention, the 17 species on this Category X list will be extinct within a generation,” Professor Fensham said.
“None of them appear to have any resistance to myrtle rust or any wild population which is not yet infected.”
Despite the grim outlook, Professor Fensham said the wider Rhodamnia genome offered some hope, with related species showing resistance to the disease.
“A survival strategy starts with finding clean cuttings in the wild before myrtle rust attacks them and propagating them to grow at safe sites,” he said.
Seedlings are currently being grown by specialists in Lismore and Townsville, while a nursery in Maleny is also attempting to propagate the species.
“So far seedlings are being grown by specialists in Lismore and Townsville which look promising, but they need to be constantly vigilant,” Professor Fensham said.
“Hopefully once they produce seed, lurking in the next generation of Rhodamnia zombi some resistance will become apparent.”
Professor Fensham ultimately hopes resistant trees can be returned to their natural habitat.
“It’s a long shot and ambitious but the species needs time and space without being constantly walloped by myrtle rust to hopefully express some resistance,” he said.
“Left to its own devices, the trees in the wild really will be the living dead.”
The research has been published in Austral Ecology.
