Jack Pine

Jack pine's cones are sealed with resin that only melts at temperatures above 120°F - temperatures that require fire. Some cones remain on trees for 25 years or more, accumulating a decades-long seed bank waiting for fire to release it. This is serotiny taken to its extreme: the tree literally cannot reproduce without fire.

The strategy is a pure bet on fire's inevitability. Jack pine grows in the boreal forests of Canada where fire historically swept through every 50-100 years. In this environment, serotiny is reliable; fire always comes eventually. But fire suppression has changed the equation. Where fires are prevented, jack pines age without reproducing, and forests transition to species without fire dependence.

Jack pine's dependence creates vulnerability that's become visible in management contexts. The Kirtland's warbler - one of North America's rarest songbirds - nests only in young jack pine stands that regenerate after fire. Warbler conservation requires fire or fire-mimicking management. The bird's rarity traces back to the tree's fire dependence.

The business insight is that dependence on periodic disruption creates vulnerability when disruption is prevented. Jack pine evolved for a world where fire was guaranteed; fire suppression created an environment it wasn't adapted for. Companies that depend on market disruptions - recessions creating bargains, technology shifts creating opportunity - face similar risks when those disruptions are prevented or delayed.