Pyrophyte

File:Charred.JPG with reminders of a fire which happened over 100 years ago]]

These resist fire with adaptations including thick bark, tissue with high moisture content, or underground storage structures. Examples include:

• Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris){{Silvics|volume=1 |genus=Pinus |species=palustris |first=W. D. |last=Boyer}}
• Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
• Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
• Cork oak (Quercus suber)
• Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia) which is extending in areas where bush fires are a mode of clearing (e.g. New Caledonia).
• Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula) – this grows low to the ground in acid marshes in North Carolina, and resists fires passing over due to being close to the moist soil;{{cite journal |author1=W. Schulze |author2=E.D. Schulze |author3=I. Schulze |author4=R. Oren |name-list-style=amp | title=Quantification of insect nitrogen utilization by the venus fly trap Dionaea muscipula catching prey with highly variable isotope signatures | journal=Journal of Experimental Botany | volume=52 | year=2001 | pages=1041–1049 | doi=10.1093/jexbot/52.358.1041 | pmid=11432920 | issue=358| doi-access=free }} fire suppression threatens the species in its natural environment.{{cite web |author=Leege |first=Lissa |date=19 August 2002 |title=How does the Venus flytrap digest flies? |url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-does-the-venus-flytra |access-date=2008-08-20 |work=Scientific American}}
• White asphodel (Asphodelus albus)

For some species of pine, such as Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), European black pine (Pinus nigra) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), the effects of fire can be antagonistic: if moderate, it helps pine cone bursting, seed dispersion and the cleaning of the underwoods; if intense, it destroys these resinous trees. {{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Some trees and shrubs such as the Eucalyptus of Australia actually encourage the spread of fires by producing flammable oils, and are dependent on their resistance to the fire which keeps other species of tree from invading their habitat. Today, many non-pyrophyte invasive plant species are able to invade fire adapted ecosystems as humans disrupt local fire cycles. Raising questions about sustainable paths forward to preserve these ecosystems, their native biodiversity, and human based landscapes.{{Cite journal |last1=Hiers |first1=J. Kevin |last2=Walters |first2=Jeffrey R. |last3=Mitchell |first3=Robert J. |last4=Varner |first4=J. Morgan |last5=Conner |first5=L. Mike |last6=Blanc |first6=Lori A. |last7=Stowe |first7=Johnny |date=21 March 2014 |title=Ecological value of retaining pyrophytic oaks in longleaf pine ecosystems |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.676 |access-date=14 March 2025 |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=78 |issue=3 |pages=383–393 |doi=10.1002/jwmg.676 |bibcode=2014JWMan..78..383H }}

Other plants which need fire for their reproduction are called pyrophilic. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is a pyrophile, depending on fire to clear the ground for seed germination.{{Citation |last1=Jose |first1=Shibu |title=The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem |date=2006 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30687-2_1 |work=The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: Ecology, Silviculture, and Restoration |pages=3–8 |editor-last=Jose |editor-first=Shibu |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-30687-2_1 |isbn=978-0-387-30687-2 |access-date=2022-10-24 |last2=Jokela |first2=Eric J. |last3=Miller |first3=Deborah L. |series=Springer Series on Environmental Management |editor2-last=Jokela |editor2-first=Eric J. |editor3-last=Miller |editor3-first=Deborah L.|url-access=subscription }}

The passage of fire, by increasing temperature and releasing smoke, is necessary to raise seeds dormancy of pyrophile plants such as Cistus and Byblis an Australian passive carnivorous plant. The importance of smoke in germination has been directly linked to its production of trace gases, mainly Nitrogen Oxide(NO) and Nitrogen dioxide(NO₂). These traces gases produced in wildfires share significant over lap with anthropogenic pollution. Leading some to believe premature germination of pyrophiles through accidental human interference is possible.{{Cite journal |last1=Keeley |first1=Jon E. |last2=Fotheringham |first2=C. J. |date=1997-05-23 |title=Trace Gas Emissions and Smoke-Induced Seed Germination |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.276.5316.1248 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=276 |issue=5316 |pages=1248–1250 |doi=10.1126/science.276.5316.1248 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}

Imperata cylindrica is a plant of Papua New Guinea. Even green, it ignites easily and causes fires on the hills.

99 million-year-old amber-preserved fossils of Phylica piloburmensis, belonging to the modern pyrophytic genus Phylica, show clear adaptations to fire including pubescent, needle-like leaves, further affirmed by the presence of burned plant remains from other Burmese amber specimens. These indicate that frequent fires have exerted an evolutionary pressure on flowering plants ever since their origins in the Cretaceous, and that adaptation to fire has been present in the family Rhamnaceae for over 99 million years.{{Cite journal |last1=Shi |first1=Chao |last2=Wang |first2=Shuo |last3=Cai |first3=Hao-hong |last4=Zhang |first4=Hong-rui |last5=Long |first5=Xiao-xuan |last6=Tihelka |first6=Erik |last7=Song |first7=Wei-cai |last8=Feng |first8=Qi |last9=Jiang |first9=Ri-xin |last10=Cai |first10=Chen-yang |last11=Lombard |first11=Natasha |last12=Li |first12=Xiong |last13=Yuan |first13=Ji |last14=Zhu |first14=Jian-ping |last15=Yang |first15=Hui-yu |date=February 2022 |title=Fire-prone Rhamnaceae with South African affinities in Cretaceous Myanmar amber |url=https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-494355/v1.pdf?c=1631897920000 |journal=Nature Plants |language=en |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=125–135 |doi=10.1038/s41477-021-01091-w |pmid=35102275 |bibcode=2022NatPl...8..125S |s2cid=246443363 |issn=2055-0278}}

== See also ==

• Fire ecology
• Serotiny

{{Commons category|Pyrophytes}}

Category:Plant physiology