Pioneering native plant species that grow after bushfires

There are a number of native plant species which are pioneer species, colonising bare ground after fires and appearing to be weedy. These plants take advantage of the conditions brought about by a disturbance event such as a bushfire, which may stimulate the seed to germinate, and provides bare ground and altered nutrient conditions which favour the growth of these plants. Many will disappear, or decline in abundance, over time, as other native plant species recover from the bushfire and shade them out, or outcompete them.

See the image above for native plant species which are common post-fire and may be mistaken as weeds. These include:

• Fairy fanflower (Scaevola aemula), image: Colin Wilson
• Hills daisy (Ixodia achillaeoides), image: Colin Wilson
• Golden tip (Goodia lotifolia), image: Colin Wilson
• Groundsels (Senecio spp.), image: Colin Wilson
• Fire daisy (Coronidium adenophorum), image: South Australian Seed Conservation Centre
• Hop Goodenia (Goodenia ovata), image: South Australian Seed Conservation Centre
• False tobacco (Apalochlamys spectabilis), image: Denzel Murfet
• Cudweeds (Euchiton spp. image: South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, Gnaphalium spp., image: Denzel Murfet)
• Kangaroo apple (Solanum simile), image: Colin Wilson
• Raspworts (Haloragis spp.), image: Denzel Murfet
• Climbing lignum (Muehlenbeckia adpressa), image: South Australian Seed Conservation Centre
• Buckbush (Gyrostemon australasicus), image: Denzel Murfet
• Mulla Mulla (Ptilotus beckerianus), image: South Australian Seed Conservation Centre