Some consider green the most restful and relaxing color for the human eye. It is also believed that green can have a calming effect on a person. Green is the most common color in nature. It is associated with spring when nature is reawakened; green shoots push up through the soil, trees begin to leaf out. Green represents growth, life, renewal, and energy. Can getting out into nature’s green space have that calming effect as well?

When you observe the current brown landscape, do you feel winter-weary? Even though winter has a beauty all its own, the absence of green is obvious. Leaves have turned brown and dropped to the ground, grass has gone dormant, and gardens look dead. Many would consider December, January, and February to be “the dead of winter”. But if you brave the season’s cold temperatures and take a hike on one of the many trails in the Gunpowder Falls State Park, you’ll soon discover that not all the green has disappeared over the winter.

Aside from the well-known evergreen trees with needles, like pine, hemlock, and spruce, there are native broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs that also hold onto their green leaves throughout the harshest winter weather. Two are particularly easy to spot in the wild.

The native American holly (Ilex opaca) is a common tree seen in shaded moist woods, forest bottomlands, and along streams and riverbanks. Among evergreen broad-leaved trees, it is the most cold-hardy in North America and can live up to 150 years. Because of its slow growth and shade tolerance, it is considered a forest understory tree, even though it can grow 40 to 60 feet tall. It is easily recognized by its thick, leathery, 2- to 4-inch-long green leaves with spiny marginal teeth. The female trees produce beautiful red berries, technically called drupes, which are an important food source for songbirds, game birds, and small mammals. The branches of these trees are well known around the winter holidays for indoor and outdoor decorations. *

A native broadleaf evergreen shrub seen in the forest understory is mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). It typically grows on wooded well-drained hillsides and rock outcrops. These shrubs have an open sprawling growth habit reaching 15 feet tall and spreading 5 to 15 feet wide. Their 2- to 6-inch-long elliptical shiny deep green leaves stand out against the brown winter landscape. As the shrub ages, the branches take on a gnarly growth habit with peeling strips of cinnamon-colored bark. Due to the toxic nature of its foliage and flowers, it is not usually browsed by deer and therefore will sometimes be seen growing in large stands or thickets that provide cover for birds.  

In contrast to the holly tree and the mountain laurel shrub which are more easily spotted in the forest, there are a few less obvious native evergreen plants worth searching for while hiking. The Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is so named because it persists through winter when many other ferns have disappeared, and it holds up well when used in winter holiday floral arrangements. * This hardy fern occurs on both moist and dry shady wooded slopes, in ravines, and along woodland streambanks. It can be seen clinging to rocky hillsides and growing in groupings around the base of trees. Its 1- to 2-foot-tall dark green leaves, known as fronds, are leathery and lance-shaped, and grow in a fountain-like clump that contrasts nicely against the brown leaf litter of the forest floor. Each frond consists of many “stocking-shaped” pinnae, or leaflets, also reminiscent of Christmas, with minutely toothed edges. The fronds lie flat on the ground through the winter but survive even under the weight of snow.  The Christmas Fern provides protective cover and habitat for salamanders, toads, and other small land-dwelling animals.

If you look closely at the ground while hiking you might spot the tiny native perennial herb called partridgeberry or twinberry (Mitchella repens). Growing no taller than 2 inches high, this woody creeping vine has 6-to12-inch trailing stems that lie prostrate on the forest floor. Where stem nodes touch the ground they will root, thus forming colonies. Its evergreen leaves are rounded, only ½ inch in diameter, glossy dark green with a pale yellow stripe down the central vein, and appear in pairs on a woody stem. The plant produces a small scarlet berry with two contrasting red spots on its surface and 8 seeds within. These berries can be seen from fall into winter if they haven’t been eaten by songbirds, turkeys, skunks, foxes, chipmunks, and mice. Partridgeberry prefers undisturbed locations and is commonly found in moist forests where there is dappled sunlight to complete shade, on stream banks, and in humus-rich acidic soil.

Another diminutive native perennial evergreen herb likely to be seen throughout the winter is spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), also called striped wintergreen and striped Prince’s pine. But you must look closely in the dry woodland’s understory among the fallen leaves, for there it will be hiding. Only growing 3-5 inches tall, it has 1-3-inch long by ¼- to 1-inch wide leathery green and white mottled leaves arranged in a whorl on its stem. The white midrib stripe on this dark green leaf is an identifying characteristic. We are fortunate to have this little native plant growing in Maryland as it is endangered in Illinois, Maine, and Ontario.

Lastly, while on your foray through the woods you might come upon low-growing evergreen forest plants called clubmosses (Lycopodium spp.). These can be found growing under trees in large swaths or in small patches. At first glance, you might think they are pine seedlings or moss, but they are neither. The common name “clubmoss” is based on the premise that at first glance these plants resemble moss which are non-vascular plants and have no true roots. But clubmosses are vascular perennial evergreen plants. The actual roots are rather shallow, but individual plants in some species of clubmoss are connected by horizontal stems that run above ground (runners) or below ground (rhizomes). These runners and rhizomes send up erect shoots ranging in size from one-half inch, which resemble moss, to several inches tall, which resemble tiny trees. Clubmosses produce spores in cone-like structures called strobili at the end of a stalk. When the spores are released they germinate very slowly, taking up to twenty years to develop the new plant! At one time, clubmoss plants commonly were used for Christmas decorations. Species in which individual plants are connected by rhizomes or runners were ripped from the ground and used as decorative ropes of greenery. Since clubmosses are such slow-growing plants, conservation groups discourage this practice. *

These are only a few of our native evergreen forest plants that you might encounter on a winter hike. Hopefully, this information will encourage you to venture out into nature and enjoy the “greens” that thrive despite winter weather.
 
*It is never acceptable to collect wild plants from public lands. Please enjoy them in their wild habitats and leave them to be enjoyed by the next person hiking through the woods.

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