No fear of fire
MELVILLE – A short description of how the ploegbreker, found at Melville Koppies can survive regular fires.
Some plants like nothing more than to be burnt.
They relish the scorched earth because the charred remains feed their roots and the burn gets rid of grass and other shrubs that would otherwise obscure the sun from their chlorophyll-filled leaves.
This according to Jenny Grice, volunteer at the Melville Koppies, and if you visit now you can see one of these plants, the ploegbreker (Erythrina zeyheri) in flower, so named because its extensive root system breaks farmers’ ploughs.
“Its root system is also the secret of how it manages to be so small but survives regular fires. Its cousins are coral trees that can reach 30m in height. Scientists have done studies of the species and have found that more than two million years ago, plants like the ploegbreker were probably also tall trees like their cousins,” she said.
She concluded the plant adapted to frequent fires by developing bigger root systems where they could store food and water.
