It can grow in highly disturbed habitat, as evidenced by its ability to survive volcanic eruption and to thrive in the destroyed ecosystem on the most barren slopes of Mount St. Helens.
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens | Hōei eruption of Mount Fuji | Plinian eruption | Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption | Hatepe eruption | Eruption column | 1883 eruption of Krakatoa |
Its history began about 3 Mya with a Plinian eruption that created a large caldera, the contours of which are no longer clearly defined.