A surprising number of plants living on the floor of our forests remain green over winter. Now that the snow and ice is retreating, searching out these green patches will add to the enjoyment of a walk through the woods. In a few weeks the evergreens will blend in with the fresh growth soon to emerge during the spring rains. The groundcover under spruce woods will often be a carpet of rich green moss. The creeping evergreen club mosses, some with upright stems and branches, have been used as house decorations during winter.
Some ferns remain green over winter.
The best know is the Christmas fern with its eared leaflets that resemble a Christmas stocking. In March, flower buds begin swelling among the leathery oval leaves of trailing arbutus or mayflower. Often nearby the shiny dark green leaves of wintergreen, sometimes called teaberry, will be found. Another rich evergreen is partrdgeberry. The two eyes of its scarlet berries are the result of the fruit forming from a double flower.