A newly identified Australian tree species has been given the grim nickname of the "zombie tree"—because while some individuals are still alive, the species itself is essentially dead, unable to reproduce or grow normally without major intervention.
Scientists at the University of Queensland are scrambling to save Rhodamnia zombi from extinction as a devastating fungal disease called myrtle rust systematically destroys the species' ability to flower, seed, or even grow new shoots.
Professor Rod Fensham, a botanist at UQ, told ScienceDaily that urgent action is needed. "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," he said.
Mate, there's something particularly Australian about discovering a new species only to realize it's already on the brink of extinction. That's the biodiversity crisis in a nutshell.
Rhodamnia zombi is a small to medium-sized tree with large dark green leaves, shaggy bark, and fuzzy white flowers. It grows in rainforest areas within Queensland's Burnett region—a limited range that makes the species especially vulnerable.
The bright yellow fungal pathogen attacks and kills the tree's young shoots over and over again, meaning an infected tree can't grow or reproduce. Eventually, it dies. The disease responsible, myrtle rust, was first detected in Australia in 2010 and has since wreaked havoc on native myrtaceae species.
Because of the existential threat it faces, Rhodamnia zombi has now been placed on a Category X list of species considered potentially critically endangered. Fensham warns that "without any intervention, the 17 species on this Category X list will be extinct within a generation."
