Wire grass plants

Figure 7. Wire grass provides the fuel for the fires that sustain longleaf pine savannas. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

Figure 7 shows the tops of wire grass plants growing in the open areas of the savanna shown in Figure 6. Note that these plants have developed viable seed in the aftermath of the fire. It appears that fire is essential for production of viable seed by these plants. Wire grass may actually be the most important, if not the most obvious, species in a longleaf pine savanna, because it is the plant that produces most of the fuel for the fires that sustain the community. Longleaf pines themselves do not produce enough fuel to keep their “home fires” burning. If it weren’t for wire grass and the fires it sustains, the savannas would cease to exist. That is exactly what happens when fire is suppressed in these communities.

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