The plant pathogen myrtle rust has been found in Christchurch for the first time - four years after the fungal disease was detected in New Zealand.
Myrtle rust is wide-spread across the North Island and top of the south and has caused tree deaths among native myrtle species.
Christchurch is now the most southern point the disease has been reported.
Myrtle rust threatens 37 of Aotearoa’s native trees in the myrtle family, including pōhutukawa, rāta and mānuka. Of those, 25 species aren’t found anywhere else in the world.
The pathogen infects new growth on trees, and in serious cases can cause tree death.
The first reported adult tree deaths from the disease were ramarama found in Te Araroa last year.
The latest Christchurch infection was spotted on a Ramarama variety but the symptoms are no longer visible.
Scientists say more sightings of myrtle rust are expected in the city with the public urged to report the disease on the Inaturalist monitoring app.
The Government allocated $23 million into research aiming to combat the impact of the pathogen in Aotearoa between 2017 and 2018.
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