“Spring ephemerals” are plants that appear briefly each spring, usually before most other vegetation has awoken. In my part of the planet, the ephemerals include spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), bleeding hearts (Dicentra spp.), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and species of Trillium. In deciduous forests, as in the northeast, these plants evolved to grow during a period of reduced canopy coverage, when more sunlight reaches the forest floor. After rapidly growing and producing a flower, the plant goes to seed, its leafy tissues wilt, and it retreats to a dormant state until the time
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