Uredo rangelii, a taxon in the guava rust complex, newly recorded on Myrtaceae in Australia

Uredo rangelii (myrtle rust) is reported for the first time in Australia — detected on 22 April 2010 — from Agonis flexuosa, Callistemon viminalis and Syncarpia glomulifera. This taxon is morphologically distinct from Puccinia psidii, the cause of guava rust, but DNA sequence data place it in the P. psidii complex. Surveys up to the end of May 2010 have detected U. rangelii on cultivated shrubs and trees at four properties (two cut flower farms and two wholesale nurseries) on the Central Coast of New South Wales, with no records in native forest thus far. Containment operations are currently underway on infected properties.