The recently identified Australian tree Rhodamnia zombi, nicknamed the zombie tree, cannot grow or reproduce due to myrtle rust and risks disappearing within a generation without intervention.

Efforts are underway to grow seedlings at facilities in Lismore and Townsville under strict conditions, with the aim that resistant traits could emerge to enable replanting and ecosystem restoration.

Researchers published their conservation work and findings in the journal Austral Ecology.

A potential conservation path involves using clean cuttings from resistant individuals of related Rhodamnia species to propagate plants in safe sites and test resistance in the next generation, seeking a lineage with disease immunity or tolerance.

Future generations may generate seed production and genetic resistance, offering a slim chance to restore Rhodamnia zombi populations and reintroduce them to forests.

Experts warn that without intervention, all 17 Category X species facing similar threats could go extinct within a generation due to the lack of resistance to myrtle rust in wild populations.

Rhodamnia zombi is a small to medium rainforest tree with large dark green leaves, shaggy bark, and fuzzy white flowers found in Queensland’s Burnett region, now listed as potentially critically endangered because of myrtle rust.

Since its first assessment in 2020, about 10% of Rhodamnia zombi trees have died, and the remaining individuals show no flowering or fruiting due to the fungal disease.