Did you know this fern waits for winter light? If you were a tree, this fern would hope your leaves fell off. Why? Licorice fern often pushes out fresh green leaves in winter, not summer. When many of the trees it grows on drop their leaves, more light reaches the forest—and the fern responds. When we thin overcrowded Douglas-fir plantations and restore redwood forests, we’re not just helping big trees. We’re letting light return, and plants like licorice fern come back. Sometimes growth doesn’t