Keep an eye out for myrtle rust in your garden, local parks, and other green areas. Recognise symptoms so you can help protect our environment.
Myrtle rust is a serious fungal disease that affects plants in the myrtle family. Some of our most iconic native plants are vulnerable to myrtle rust, including:
Some exotic species can also get the disease, including ornamental plants like bottlebrush and lilly pily.
List of species found with myrtle rust in NZ
App to help you identify plants at risk | mpi.govt.nz
Look out for symptoms of myrtle rust, including:
Use the images below to help identify myrtle rust
Over time the characteristic yellow spots can darken and become brown-grey. This is myrtle rust on a Ramarama plant. Ramarama is an endemic species of evergreen myrtle shrub which grows to a height of 8m. It is native to New Zealand.
Bright yellow powdery eruptions of spores appear on both sides of the Eucalyptus leaf. Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae.
Bright yellow powdery eruptions appear on the underside of the young ramarama leaf. Ramarama is an endemic species of evergreen myrtle shrub which grows to a height of 8m.
Bottlebrush with raised yellow pustules and red-brown lesions on the leaves and stem indicating myrtle rust. Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions including New Zealand.
Bottlebrush with raised yellow and grey pustules and brown lesions on the leaf indicating myrtle rust. Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions including New Zealand.