One of the surest signs that spring has arrived in the north woods is the appearance of an abundance of beautiful wildflowers covering the forest floor. For many species of forest wildflowers there is just a short window of opportunity to bloom. Shortly after the last snow drift has melted and the frost has finally left the ground, they begin to appear. These spring wildflowers are in a race with the trees of the forest canopy. They have to leaf out and soak up enough sunlight to fuel the growth of their flowers and ultimately their seeds. Once the trees awaken and fully open their leaves, not enough sunlight penetrates the canopy to reach the forest floor, and fuel the growth of these wildflowers. If these early spring wildflowers waited until summer to bloom they would not get enough sunlight to produce seeds, and they would eventually disappear from the north woods.
