Scientists have identified an Australian tree species nicknamed the zombie tree due to its inability to reproduce amid a fungal disease. The Rhodamnia zombi, found in Queensland's rainforests, faces potential extinction within a generation without intervention. Researchers are propagating disease-free seedlings in hopes of fostering resistance.
A newly described tree species in Australia, Rhodamnia zombi, has earned the moniker zombie tree from scientists because living individuals cannot grow or reproduce normally without assistance. Professor Rod Fensham, a botanist at the University of Queensland, highlighted the urgency in preventing its disappearance caused by myrtle rust, a fungal disease.
"This species did not have a name when it was first assessed in 2020, and since then 10 percent of the trees have died and none of those remaining are producing flowers or fruit because of myrtle rust," Fensham stated.
The tree, a small to medium-sized species with large dark green leaves, shaggy bark, and hairy white flowers, inhabits rainforests in Queensland's Burnett region. Myrtle rust, a bright yellow pathogen first detected in Australia in 2010, repeatedly attacks and kills its young shoots, halting growth and reproduction until the tree eventually dies.
Due to this threat, Rhodamnia zombi joins 17 other species on a Category X list of potentially critically endangered plants. "Without any intervention, the 17 species on this Category X list will be extinct within a generation," Fensham noted. "None of them appear to have any resistance to myrtle rust or any wild population which is not yet infected."
Efforts to save the species involve collecting clean cuttings from the wild before infection and growing them in protected sites. Seedlings are being cultivated by specialists in Lismore and Townsville, showing promise but requiring constant monitoring. Fensham explained that related Rhodamnia species exhibit resistance, offering genetic potential for survival.
"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. Researchers anticipate that future generations of these plants may develop resistance, allowing eventual replanting in natural habitats. The findings appear in the journal Austral Ecology.