Plants possess many traits that allow individual survival or population persistence in the face of recurrent fires. Although a great deal of research has focused on these fire traits, the assumption that such traits are adaptations to fire has remained controversial. The opposing view is that these traits are not fire adaptations, but at most, exaptations: that is, traits that originated as responses to an evolutionary pressure other than fire but now enhance plant performance in a fire-prone environment. However, there is now a bulk of information suggesting that fire is an old ecosystem process dating back to almost the origin of terrestrial vegetation and has been a strong evolutionary pressure. In this special session, we aim to present the growing evidence that many plant traits are indeed fire adaptations as they have been shaped by specific fire regimes through their evolutionary history. We aim to present ecological, phylogenetic and genetic evidence for natural selection driven by fire.