The Sundarban
Researchers have given a newly identified Australian tree species an unusual nickname. Scientists call it the “zombie” tree because, although some individuals are serene alive, the species is unable to develop and reproduce normally with out major intervention.
Professor Rod Fensham, a botanist at the College of Queensland, said urgent action is wished to forestall the species Rhodamnia zombi from disappearing as a consequence of the fungal disease identified as myrtle rust.
“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,” Professor Fensham said.
Myrtle Rust Stops the Tree From Rising or Reproducing
Rhodamnia zombi is described as a small to medium sized tree with large dark green leaves, shaggy bark, and fuzzy white vegetation. It grows in rainforest areas within Queensland’s Burnett status.
“It is a small to medium-sized tree with large dark green leaves, shaggy bark and hairy white vegetation growing in rainforests within the Burnett status of Queensland.
“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.”
The fungal disease accountable for the damage, myrtle rust, was first detected in Australia in 2010. Because of the threat it poses, Rhodamnia zombi has now been placed on a list of species idea to be potentially critically endangered.
“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.”
Scientists Hope Future Generations May Bask in Resistance
Regardless of the dire outlook, researchers examine a that you can imagine path forward. Professor Fensham, who works in UQ’s Faculty of the Atmosphere, said related species within the broader Rhodamnia team have confirmed resistance to myrtle rust. That genetic connection could provide a chance 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.
“So far seedlings are being grown by specialists in Lismore and Townsville which search for promising, but they have to be constantly vigilant.
“Expectantly when they originate seed, lurking within the subsequent generation of Rhodamnia zombi some resistance will transform apparent.
“It is a rare opportunity to study this evolutionary process which has happened countless of times in the wild over millennia.”
A Lengthy Shot to Save the Species
Researchers ultimately hope that if resistant bushes emerge, they could eventually be replanted in forests and relieve restore the species to its natural ecosystem.
“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,” Professor Fensham said.
“Left to its own devices, the trees in the wild really will be the living dead.”
The findings describing the species and its conservation outlook had been published within the journal Austral Ecology.
