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Re: Fw: Test By Fire

>> Hello: This may not be the same as a forest fire to promote germination of
>> certain seeds but.... It's recommended that you put seeds of perennial
>> Romneya on a flat of soil, cover with a layer of pine needles and set the
>> needles on fire. I've never done this, don't know how thick the layer is,
>> etc. Carolyn
>
Kwint wrote:

>This makes sense, because around where I live, the romneyas (matilija
>poppy) grow on chaparral covered hillsides which are often charred in brush
>fires.

As a followup to my previous post, here's a page that describes the process
of fire and regeneration in the chaparral:

http://www.rain.org/~riveray/html/Files_Indexes/wildfire.files/fire_on_hills.htm
l


And a excerpt below from another page at:
http://www.rain.org/~riveray/html/Files_Indexes/natural_history.files/chaparral.
html


                  main adaptation of the chaparral to its arid conditions,
however, is its response
                  to fire, which initiates a new cycle of plant succession.
In the hard chaparral the
                  buildup of dead plant material tends to ensure the
continuity of fire, while in the
                  softer chaparral it is the volatile and highly flammable
oils that do so.
                  Afer a fire, annuals and short-lived perennials, called
fire followers, temporarily
                  dominate the hillsides, producing spectacular displays of
wildflowers. In about two
                  to five years after a fire though, almost all of these
species stop growing and their
                  spaces are usually taken by the expanding canopies of the
resprouting or regrowing
                  chaparral shrubs. The seeds of these herbaceous fire
followers persist in the soil
                  until released by heat from the next wildfire.

(There is more, but I didn't want to quote excessively.)
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