At least in the part of Broadwater State Forest where I rocked up, the fire hadn’t been very intense. The eucalypt canopy wasn’t scorched, and there were lots of big old cypress pines, very much alive.

The ground layer HAD mostly burnt, though there were some unburnt patches. Where the fire had cleared out the leaf litter, herbs were flourishing. This is Yellow Buttons (Chrysocephalum apiculatum).

Purple Fan Flower (Scaevola ramosissima), growing in a sheltered spot at the base of a granite rock.

Forest Goodenia (Goodenia hederacea). Many of the herb species we found flowering at Girraween at 13 months post-fire, were also flowering here 6 months after the September burn.

Looking across the patch you can see the diversity of life forms that have sprung up, after fire and rain - herbs, ferns, grasses, resprouting shrubs. Already, six months post-fire, empty spaces are being filled by plants and leaf-litter.

This is the time for seedlings to establish, before the gaps close. This seedling still has its seed leaves (cotyledons). I don’t know what species it is – I’d like to check it out in a few months’ time when it’s bigger and there are more clues.

There were lots of Acacia seedlings, though again it was too early to identify species. Quite a few wattle species regenerate from long-lived, fire-cued seeds in the soil.

A group of eucalypt seedlings. Of course, not all seedlings survive to adulthood – you couldn’t have half a dozen adult trees packed so close together. But enough make it through to maintain tree cover at a level the landscape can sustain.

While some species regrow from seeds, others put out new shoots from pre-fire roots. This Urn Heath (Melichrus urceolatus) is a classic. Substantial root crowns like this are called lignotubers. Lignotubers contain buds and food reserves, and are designed to get the species through fire and drought.

Many herbaceous plants also resprout from pre-fire roots. This Flax Lily (Dianella revoluta) is doing just that. You can see the old burnt stems here too.

Driving back into Stanthorpe, I stopped at a patch that had burnt intensely. Eucalypts whose top-most branches had been scorched were resprouting all the way up their trunks. In this photo you can see that process in detail, though most trees had many more new shoots than you can see here. In fact someone had been harvesting the beautiful post-fire juvenile foliage of this particular Apple Box (Eucalyptus bridgesiana).

Some people regard this little native herb, Whiteroot (Lobelia purpurascens), as a weed. Six months post-fire it was resprouting from those white roots and had beautiful little flowers. What’s not to like?

Many Aussie herbs have small, subtle flowers. Not so this Common Fringe Lily (Thysanotus tuberosus), which really isn’t common, in any sense of the word. Each flower was about 3 cm across.

Another native lily, this one with much smaller flowers. It's a Vanilla Lily (Arthropodium paniculatum).

This native Queensland Wandering Sailor (Commelina lanceolata) is sometimes confused with similar-looking species that are non-native weeds. You can pick it by its narrow leaves.

Grass Lily (Murdannia graminea). I was surprised and happy to find so many herbs flowering in March (ie autumn). Makes sense after summer rain, but I suspect other herb species will flower in spring, around 12 months after the Stanthorpe fire. Hope we can get there to check them out.