Frost Flowers on Frostweed (Verbesina virginica)
I was driving on to our land after my weekly trip to the grocery store when I spotted what I thought was white plastic trash on our forested dirt roadside. Flustered and angry that the local hunters had made a mess, I stopped my car and stormed out to pick up the offensive "litter." Little did I know that what I saw was not litter at all. I was delighted to find the elusive "frost flower" instead! Frostweed (Verbesina virginica) gets its common name from an unusual phenomenon that USUALLY occurs with the first freezing temperatures of the year. The cell walls of stems burst under freezing conditions and form these unique ice formations. This was not our first freeze, so I thought that I had missed my opportunity to see this phenomenon for the first time! What a welcome surprise on a bitter morning! Gordon County, Georgia, US. January 22, 2020.
Note: I included a photo to show you what Frostweed looks like when in bloom in the summer months!
''Verbesina virginica'', the white crownbeard, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family.
It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is found in calcareous soil, often in bottomland thickets and edges of woods.
It is a tall biennial species. It produces heads of white flowers in late summer through fall.
