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The forest floor is composed of a surface layer known as duff, which is composed of accumulations of leaves, twigs and other organic matter shed from the tree canopies above. Beneath this layer the soil may be very fertile for the top few inches, then it becomes more spare deeper down. Forest soils tend to be acidic, with even more acid in those which are predominately evergreen conifer species.

Plants that evolved to live in the forest floor environment develop wide yet shallow root systems to feed off this thin layer of fertility. These are known as "understory species" and from them come some of our most beautiful shade garden shrubs and perennials.

The most well known shrubs of the forest floor are camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons, all of which develop fine surface feeder roots adapted to acidic soils. This is why it is best to dig a very wide but shallow hole for these species to encourage the largest feeding zone as early as possible.

Other perennials from forests include Hellebores, trilliums, bleeding heart and columbine.

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