Edibles/medicinals/usefuls that appreciate fire (pyrophytic)

Hey all,

I'm looking at land right now that is partially going to be burnt for conservation purposes, but could be burnt more broadly to bring out the prairie/savanna remnant there. This means lots of American plum, hazelnut,  some others, and no more walls of greenbriar and blackberry brambles.

In any case, the fire's not the question (I can assure you no decisions have been made and safety will be ensured if the decision is made to burn, not the point). My question is: are there any native or non-invasive edibles that appreciate fire (thinking some legumes are a possibility, maybe some nut trees but most I see are cold stratification) that I could incorporate, maybe into guild systems around trees that don't mind fire too much (unclear on the possibilities there, maybe American plum). There'll be some native edibles there already: American Hazelnut, American Plum, Redbud, black haw, yarrow, goldenrod, heal-all, various milkweeds, etc. So there's potential there for cultivating what's already there. Does anyone have any other ideas? Would nodding onion (allium cernuum) survive? I'd love the possibility of perennials that nativist with the burning, seems to happen largely with grasses but I haven't found much on this at all in permaculture. Might not be super possible. Burning as our permaculture niche seems important to explore, at least in places like here where burning was traditionally done. Also pretty cool to think about burning to bring back big game like bison and elk as a form of permaculture husbandry akin to a food forest. Doesn't help me much here, of course. And yes, we've thought about bringing on bison but it seems like an expert level livestock and we are not expert level.

Location: Piedmont region, VA. Zone 7.

I believe that succulent plants would be good for areas that might be prone to wildfires.

Plants such as Aloe vera, agave, ice plants, and rock rose.

Good question! Sam Thayer’s newest book, the Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America, would be an amazing reference. It does list species that benefit from fire, and is an excellent guide besides.

Personally I’ve seen smooth sumac, blackberry, and bracken growing in what appeared to be burnt meadows. I also think milkweed and dogbane could like fire, because of their late emergence.

Camassia may be a good plant. They are a perennial root vegetable with edible leaves and shoots, native to your region, with a long history of use and harvest, and Thayer lists them as fire-loving.