As a plant, in order to survive in a continent that is mostly desert and suffers 100+ degree temperatures for at least a month straight, you would need to survive fires. The summer in Australia is a constant battle against spreading brush fires. On the embarking of my trip, we passed a "forest" ravaged by a fire. Unlike our fires in North America, which basically level trees to the ground, the fire here just burned the leaves and merely charred the rest. There were two types of trees, one with a person-height trunk that expanded into various limbs and leaves on top, or waist-high stumps , almost like cacti, with a big frayed paint brush on top. Stripped bare, it looked like a military cemetery, with black instead of white graves.
These plants always recover though. Since the stumps and roots remain, the plants survive. Natural selection has done well here. Some plants only release their flame resistant seeds after a fire hits, ensuing the offspring of the burned parent survives.
Most of these fires are either spontaneous from the heat or accidental, but some jerks feel the need to start fires on hot days. Last week, somebody deliberately burned down 60% of the beautiful King's Park I mentioned earlier. I"m glad I saw it when I did. This happens every few years though, so a burned park is a common site. On probably the same day, another asshole took a lighter to Big Ted, ending his desert residency forever. Some people have no life.
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