Studies conducted in many parts of the world over the past 20 yr have shown that smoke can induce seeds to germinate, especially those of species native to fire-prone habitats. Chemicals in smoke may signal to the seed that environmental conditions are favorable for its germination and growth (Roche, Koch, and Dixon 1997). However, smoke stimulated germination appears to have developed even in some species that are not native to fireprone habitats (e.g., lettuce; Jager et al. 1996). In fire-prone habitats around the world, including the California chaparral (Keeley and Fotheringham 1997), South African fynbos (Brown et al. 2003), Western Australian shrublands (Morris 2000), and northeastern Australian savannas (Williams et al. 2005), seeds of a wide range of species germinate in response to cues from 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3c]pyran-2-one in smoke (Flematti et al. 2004). Some plants, such as the Australian Grevillea spp., show a significant increase in germination after exposure to smoke compared to other signals such as scarification or heat shock (Morris 2000).