Plants must adapt to its transient supply. Blooming and leafing out in spring progresses from the ground up. Flowers bloom first, using stored energy in their bulbs, before the shrubs, understory and canopy leaf out and eclipse the sun. Shrubs and trees often bloom before their leaves emerge and owe their survival to wind-pollinated flowers that produce seeds with wings that act like propellers for dispersing through the relatively open branches. In the summer, deep shade envelops the forest floor and only the largest of leaves, held horizontally to catch as much light as possible, can survive.
Spring ephemerals disappear until next year.
The many sizes, shapes, textures and shades of green of the leaves become a pleasing tapestry in groundcover layers. Bloodroot, Mayapple, Sarsaparilla, Wild Ginger, Bedstraw, Trillium, Solomon's Seal and Plume, with ferns and mosses, enchant all summer. By the end of August leaves are tattered and shriveled. Their colors flame in October as they die and fall to the forest floor to be recycled. More light encourages asters, goldenrods and other flowers to burst into bloom.