A gumtree regenerating after a bushfire
Eucalypts can regenerate from epicormic buds. Epicormic buds are hidden under the bark, and are protected by it. But if the tree's leaves are destroyed, either by fire or insects, these epicormic buds produce clusters of shoots. In normal conditions the crown of leaves on the tree produces hormones which inhibit the epicormic buds from sprouting. Once a fire has removed all of the leaves the hormonal influence is gone and the epicormic buds soon sprout covering the tree in a new flush of leaves and branches. In a severe fire even the epicormic buds on the smaller branches may be killed and the plant can only recover from the epicormic buds present on the main trunk. Within a few years the plant will have attained the same growth status it had before the fire.
Size: 3418px × 5146px
Location: Illawarra forest, Victoria, Australia
Photo credit: © Denis Crawford / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: australia, black, blackened, burn, bushfire, charcoal, charred, epicormic, eucalypt, eucalyptus, green, leaf, leaves, regeneration, regrowth, tree, vegetation, wildfire
