In this part of Girraween, the fire has scorched right to the top of the tree canopy. New shoots are emerging from the branches of eucalypts and tea trees (Leptospermum species).

This patch of bush has many shrub species, and straight away we noticed the variety of shrubs ‘resprouting’ (see link). This one is Prickly Broom Heath (Monotoca scoparia). You can see the old burnt stems among the new shoots.

Another resprouter, Conesticks (Petrophile canescens). Again, the old pre-fire stems are clearly visible.

Conesticks also produces seeds. Its cones open when they get burnt, releasing seeds onto the open post-fire ground. Although most seeds have already gone, there are a few poking out of the compartments of this burnt cone. The fan of hairs around the seeds helps them travel with the wind.

I had this pegged as a resprout, but now I’m wondering if it’s a seedling. Even if you can’t see old dead stems, you can sometimes feel them at the base of a resprouting plant. Too late for that trick now I’m back in Brisbane! Either way, it’s super cute, and it’s a Blue Dampiera (Dampiera stricta).

This one’s a seedling for sure; you can see its ‘seed leaves’ (cotyledons). It’s a Stanthorpe Pea (Pultenaea hartmannii).

More Stanthorpe Pea seedlings. They were coming up all over the place.

Another seedling; this one’s a Boronia, I’m guessing Narrow-leaved Boronia (B. anethifolia). The second Boronia at this site, Small-leaved Boronia (B. microphylla), was resprouting.

This group of Flannel Flower seedlings (Actinotus helianthi) should look spectacular when they get big enough to flower. With decent rain that could be as early as this coming spring.

From little things, big things grow. These seedlings, which still have their seed leaves, are eucalypts. There were other types of seedlings, too – wattles, daisies, peas. I find seedlings hard to photograph, with their new leaves sticking out in all directions.

And there were flowers. Those of this Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior) were peeking out from the foliage of a resprouting shrub.

This Grass Trigger Plant (Stylidium graminifolium) was growing at the edge of a swampy patch near the start of the walking track to Mt Norman.

Forest Goodenia (Goodenia hederacea). At this post-fire stage, it’s mostly herbs that are flowering. Aussie herbs are generally pretty small, so you have to look carefully. Once you do, there’s a world of delight in these little gems.

This is one of my favourites, Native Candytuft (Trachymene incisa). The flowers grow on long stems; the divided leaves are far below (the dark-green leaves in the previous photos are actually Trachymene leaves). We found these pink and white flowers everywhere we went in Girraween.

A second Goodenia species, Daisy Goodenia (G. bellidifolia). Again it’s got tangled up with a shrub, so those leaves aren’t Goodenia leaves. The early post-fire years are a great time to see Aussie herbs, as they take advantage of the open conditions to grow and flower before developing shrubs overtop them.

This unassuming little shrub regrows from seed after a fire, flowering and fruiting rapidly. Its name is Pomax umbellata, because flowerheads with this umbrella-like shape are called umbels. I love the array of colours in the tiny cups, which hold both flowers and fruit.

We saw several types of fungi in the area, this was the most colourful. You can also see a native grass, Wiry Panic (Entolasia strictra), resprouting. Grasses, like other herbaceous plants, flower rapidly after fire. We saw quite a few grass species with flowers, though I didn’t do a good job of photographing them.

I know less about animals than plants, so I’m not as tuned in to the signs of their recovery. However I couldn’t miss these ants’ nests - there were lots of them!

There were also signs of digging, particularly in places where the fire had been intense, like where logs had burnt out. This reminds me of our Sydney garden after the local lyre bird had done his (or her) rounds. Something is finding a feed underground – truffles? A mystery waiting to be solved.

Pretty but prickly! Part way between a herb and a shrub, this is the Mt Maroon Solanum (S. ditrichum). Some native Solanum species grow very rapidly after a fire, produce fruit then die out after 3 or 4 years.