Frost flowers

The white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) is a native plant that grows in abundance a few hundred meters from the banks of Geronimo Creek, Texas. Typical mature plants are around 1.5 meters high, and some may reach 3 meters.

Mature white crownbeards have large leaves on a single stem crownded by a canopy of small, white flowers.

Crownbeards lose their leaves after the first frost. When the temperature is a few degrees below freezing, the stems of the plant rupture as frozen water emerges in delicate whorls and fans. The delicate ice sculpture may completely cover the 30 cm or so of the stem nearest the ground.

As the temperature warms above freezing, the delicate ribbons of ice begin to melt and fall to the ground. In doing so, long segments of ice appear to rotate downward as their weight pulls them toward the ground. Large sections of sculpted ice may fall at once. Or the ice may drop to the ground in ribbonlike flakes no thicker than a business card.

See the Gallery page of my web site for more: www.forrestmims.org.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Frost
• flowers
• ice
• castles
• weed

[annaanna94ever]

ohh haha i thought this was how to frost flowers like wit icing hahaah

[Shinerbeerchick88]

Awesome!!! One more reason to love Texas plants!

[blondeinarabia]

Thanks for solving a mystery for us here in San Marcos, Texas. We found these around our property this morning and were truly baffled. Great video. cg.

[noelclover]

What the heck? How cool, I might actually have to visit Texas now.  Thanks for the great video!

[dg73blackbird]

My bus driver used to stop the bus on those cold late November mornings and let a couple of us kids get out and eat this stuff. He called it Rabbit Butter.

[jaw1984]

very awesome, love the time lapse you have done

[1000thmonkey]

beautiful :)

[bikerchickfrommars]

Wonderful!

[KornOnTheCobRawr]

GREAT

[srmcl]

Fantastic. Just what I have always enjoyed viewing, timelapse photography and the subject is my favorite in Texas. My KIDDS and I call these ICEEs.