For many plants that reside on the forest floor here in the North Country, that period between the thawing of the ground and the bursting of the leaves of the overstory is focused on reproduction. These early spring flowers take advantage of that extra sunlight and the energy it provides to produce their seedpods or fruits for the coming season. They wrap it all up as early as possible and settle in for an otherwise uneventful few months largely invisible in the deep shade of summer.
A few, like the wild strawberry or the bunchberry, will grab our attention later in the summer. The strawberries for their tasty fruits and the bunchberries for their bright red berry clumps that are edible, if pretty bland. The raspberry-like dewberry is rarely common enough to warrant picking by humans, but I suspect that wandering grouse, chipmunks, and red squirrels will take advantage of these occasional treats.