Do plants really fight?

I decided to try the Pipeline course this afternoon; as there has been much less rain in the last few days, I hoped for reasonable underfoot conditions. Overall, my expectation was met. There were two short sections where clearly multiple others had passed and some had slipped/slid. I was able to find a way around the muckiest bit.

The result of the storm on the vegetation was easily seen with many branches having fallen, along with Ponga fronds and Nkau fronds. Generally the fallen debris was on the ground and only occasionally caught up in living trees and ferns.

My photo shows a large Nikau frond having fallen right across the top of a Ponga (tree fern). Nikau and Ponga do compete for light in the middle level of the developing rain forest. Kauri and other tall trees are already much taller than either will grow.

Scattered through this regenerating rain forest are groves of Nikau and other groves of Ponga, and they occasionally abut one another. The positioning of this Nikau frond (across the growing centre of the Ponga)  could suggest that competition has passed into conflict.