Identifying myrtle rust
Use the free NZ Myrtaceae Key App to identify the hosts of myrtle rust. Developed by botanists from Manaaki Whenua, the National Forestry Herbarium, Unitec and other experts with funding from Biosecurity New Zealand, the App is easy to use. Access it through Google Play (Android) store, the iPhone app store or through a Web-based browser hosted by Manaaki Whenua
Here are the symptoms of myrtle rust to look out for:
- bright yellow powdery eruptions appearing on the underside of the leaf (young infection)
- bright yellow powdery eruptions on both sides of the leaf (mature infection)
- brown/grey rust pustules (older spores) on older lesions
- grey, 'fuzzy' spore growth on undersides of leaves
- some leaves may become buckled or twisted and die off
Use the images below to help identify myrtle rust
Feijoa with myrtle rust
Feijoa with raised yellow pustules indicating myrtle rust. Acca sellowiana, a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, is native to the highlands of southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Colombia. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree and for its fruit.
Lilly pilly/Monkey apple with myrtle rust
Lilly Pilly with raised yellow pustules and red-brown lesions indicating myrtle rust. Syzygium smithii is a summer-flowering, winter-fruiting evergreen tree, belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It shares the common name "lilly pilly" with several other plants. In New Zealand, it is commonly known as 'monkey apple'
Mānuka with myrtle rust
Mānuka with yellow and grey pustules on leaves with small red-brown lesions indicating myrtle rust. Leptospermum scoparium, commonly called mānuka, manuka, manuka myrtle, New Zealand teatree, broom tea-tree, or just tea tree, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, native to Australia and New Zealand.
Eucalyptus with myrtle rust
Eucalyptus with raised yellow pustules indicating myrtle rust. Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Photo credit CSIRO.
Eucalyptus with myrtle rust
Eucalyptus with raised yellow pustules on the underside of the leaf. Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Photo credit CSIRO.
