The study by Crisp et al. investigates the evolutionary origins of fire-dependent biomes in Australia, particularly the sclerophyll and savanna biomes dominated by the genus *Eucalyptus*. The authors find that the unique mechanism of epicormic resprouting in Myrtaceae, which allows trees to recover from high-intensity fires, likely evolved around 60-62 million years ago during the earliest Paleogene period. This suggests that fire-dependent communities existed much earlier than previously thought, around 50 million years before the well-documented expansion of fire-dependent biomes in the late Miocene. The study also reveals a significant link between the evolution of epicormic resprouting and the transition to flammable sclerophyll biomes, but not to more recent monsoonal biomes. The authors predict that eucalypt forests and woodlands could serve as excellent long-term carbon sinks due to their ability to preserve aboveground biomass after wildfires. The findings challenge the traditional view that fire-dominated biomes originated later, following global climate aridification, and suggest that the dominance of Myrtaceae may have driven the evolution of flammability in Australian biomes.The study by Crisp et al. investigates the evolutionary origins of fire-dependent biomes in Australia, particularly the sclerophyll and savanna biomes dominated by the genus *Eucalyptus*. The authors find that the unique mechanism of epicormic resprouting in Myrtaceae, which allows trees to recover from high-intensity fires, likely evolved around 60-62 million years ago during the earliest Paleogene period. This suggests that fire-dependent communities existed much earlier than previously thought, around 50 million years before the well-documented expansion of fire-dependent biomes in the late Miocene. The study also reveals a significant link between the evolution of epicormic resprouting and the transition to flammable sclerophyll biomes, but not to more recent monsoonal biomes. The authors predict that eucalypt forests and woodlands could serve as excellent long-term carbon sinks due to their ability to preserve aboveground biomass after wildfires. The findings challenge the traditional view that fire-dominated biomes originated later, following global climate aridification, and suggest that the dominance of Myrtaceae may have driven the evolution of flammability in Australian biomes.