Fire impacts many aspects of plant performance and functioning. The first one is survival, which will be mostly driven by the degree of leaf and bud combustion in non-resprouters experiencing aboveground fires. Secondary reasons underlying fire-induced plant death include the degree of cambium charring, percent losses of hydraulic conductance, or root consumption. Understanding fire survival in resprouters is more challenging. Traditional hypotheses on an overarching role of stored reserves as drivers of resprouting vigor have not always been supported by data. Alternative views on the drivers of post-fire resprouting include the degree of drought-induced hydraulic limitations prior to the fire as a major driver. Cambium charring and hydraulic failure may lead to legacy effects affecting subsequent plant responses to drought and to other post-fire stresses. Low- to mid-intensity wildfires may induce plant defenses for protection against insect attacks, but pests are a major reason underlying post-fire tree death. Individuals surviving the fire, particularly in low- or medium-severity fires, may show enhanced growth rates due to competition removal, which increases water availability, and, potentially, to transient increases in nutrient availability. Such competition removal may also enhance reproduction in some trees, and fire acts as a cue to induce flowering in many geophytes and resprouters.