The bunchberry is named for its cluster of red fruit. Many species eat these berries, including moose, spruce grouse, songbirds and people (usually in the form of jelly). Found in North American forests, the plant requires shade and cool soil with a maximum temperature of 18°C. The seeds must undergo a winter freeze in order to germinate. Bunchberries also spread through rhizomatous reproduction -- root networks that produce individual plants on the surface, but which are interconnected below ground. These rhizome mats can live for decades, and can even produce bunchberry plants after all but the most severe forest fires.