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Flax-leaved daphne is rated fire resistant, though the primary evidence is limited.
Two Catalan authorities support using this shrub in fire-conscious landscaping. The Diputació de Girona and Catalonia’s fire service give Daphne gnidium their highest garden-suitability verdict, “muy recomendada.” That judgment combines fire research and fire-service experience with fuel structure, maintenance, origin, and invasiveness, so it is broader than a laboratory flammability rating. The Diputació de Barcelona and CREAF also place the species among less-flammable plants that should be maintained first when managing perimeter protection strips.
Laboratory findings add useful detail but less certainty. A western Algerian study classifies fresh Daphne gnidium material as moderately flammable under its three-band ignition-delay scale. Another experiment tested live fuel at 50 kW/m², 10 grams of fixed dry mass, 20 kg/m³ bulk density, and 104% fuel moisture. It measured ignition after an average of 33 seconds and a peak heat-release rate of 105 kW/m², but its authors assigned no overall species class. A separate spring test of predried live twigs measured a flame height of 21.86 centimetres without converting that result into a verdict.
For a homeowner, the practical guidance is favorable but qualified: public fire-landscaping guides treat flax-leaved daphne as a good choice, while controlled tests show that it can still ignite and burn. Fire resistant does not mean fireproof.
Form
shrub
Region
Algeria; Spain
Rated in
Catalonia, Spain; Central Spain; Global; Tlemcen, western Algeria
On this lot
1. Fire evidence and conditions
Fire evidence
Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Catalonia, Spain; Central Spain; Global; Tlemcen, western Algeria
Maintenance
2. Why this plant is relevant here
State distribution
Native range
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness
3. Legal, ecological, and broader status
Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context
How to read this page
The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.
Conditions in the fire evidence
These describe tested or rated plant material. They are not horticultural maintenance instructions.
Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating.
They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.
Guía de pirojardinería: suitable inside or outside the 25-metre maximum-risk zone [girona-2020-iuf-25m-suitability] (with its recommendation)
The fire risk of the plant groupings with Cistus in the a…: Table 1 [henaoui-2013-fresh-material-flammability] (mid-scale rating)
Les franges perimetrals de protecció contra els incendis …: page 4 species-selection panel [catalonia-perimeter-strip-maintain-remove] (with its recommendation)
The evidence
Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself
(a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or
republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.
Daphne gnidium is rated “MUY RECOMENDADA” by the guide's qualitative IUF garden-suitability method. The method assumes species-specific care and integrates fire evidence with fuel structure, maintenance, origin, invasiveness, and expert fire-service experience.
25 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
Primary study Henaoui2013: Henaoui, S. E. -A., Bouazza, M., & Amara, M. (2013). The fire risk of the plant groupings with Cistus in the area of Tlemcen (Western Algeria). European Scientific Journal, 9, 84-103.
Shared row context: plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying yes; device infrared burner; site Henaoui2013-1; sampling spring.
“flame height (cm): 21.86”
FLAMITS record 4881; Combustibility measurement.
“time to flaming (s): 85.64”
FLAMITS record 4919; Ignitability measurement.
“burning duration (s): 127.93”
FLAMITS record 4957; Sustainability measurement.
Primary study Madrigal2011a: Madrigal, J., Guijarro, M., Hernando, C., Díez, C., & Marino, E. (2011a). Effective Heat of Combustion for Flaming Combustion of Mediterranean Forest Fuels. Fire Technology, 47, 461-474.
Shared row context: plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying no; device calorimeter; site Madrigal2011a-1; sampling ND.
Primary study Madrigal2013: Madrigal, J., Hernando, C., & Guijarro, M. (2013). A new bench-scale methodology for evaluating the flammability of live forest fuels. Journal of Fire Sciences, 31, 131-142.
Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device calorimeter; site Madrigal2013-1; sampling june to september.
Primary study Saura2010: Saura-Mas, S., Paula, S., Pausas, J. G,. & Lloret, F. (2010). Fuel loading and flammability in the Mediterranean Basin woody species with different post-fire regenerative strategies. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 19, 783.