Many Fynbos plants are able to re-sprout after fire, both from underground storage organs (e.g. geophytes) and from their branches.  Unfortunately, invasive alien Port Jackson plants can also re-sprout after fire. These plants must be cut back and treated with herbicide so that they do not replace the indigenous Fynbos.

• Geophytes survive drought and fire because they have underground storage organs like bulbs, corms and tubers.

• Some geophytes called Fire Lilies only re-sprout immediately after fire. They then lie dormant in the soil waiting for the next fire.

• Other geophytes like Watsonias may flower for a few years after fire but eventually the Fynbos shrubs produce too much shade and the geophytes remain dormant waiting for the next fire.

• In Renosterveld, grasses like Rooigras re-sprout from underground stems or rhizomes. In the past, nomadic herders used to burn the veld regularly to stimulate soft, nutritious grass to grow to feed their sheep and cattle.

Some shrubs re-sprout after fire:

Some Fynbos shrubs have a thick, woody main root that is able to re-sprout after fire, even if all the branches and leaves have been burned. The Green Snakestem Pincushion can re-sprout from its rootstock after fire, as well as growing from seed.

Other shrubs that grow in Mountain Fynbos, like the Waboom (Protea nitida) and Kreupelbos (Leucospermum conocarpodendron) have very thick bark that protects the trunk and branches. They can survive fires and re-sprout from buds under the bark.

Succulents are hard to burn:

Succulent plants like the Sour Fig contain so much water that they do not burn easily.  Tortoises sometimes burrow into mats of Sour Fig to escape fire.