I went for a cold weather hike and found Ice Flowers!
So, what are Ice Flowers?
Ice flowers, also known as frost flowers, are natural ice formations that occur when certain plants, such as white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) or yellow ironweed (Verbesina alternifolia), are exposed to specific weather conditions. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how they’re made:
- Freezing air temperature: The air temperature must drop below freezing (0°C or 32°F) but not so low that the ground is already frozen.
- Moist soil: The soil must be moist or wet, but not frozen, to allow water to be drawn up from the roots into the stems of the plants.
- Capillary action: Water is drawn upward by capillary action from the ground into the stems of the plants, driven by the freezing air temperature.
- Ice crystal formation: As the water reaches the stem, it freezes, forming small ice crystals. The expansion of water as it freezes causes the stem to split vertically, creating a crack.
- Ice extrusion: As more water is drawn up from the ground through the crack, it freezes and pushes the ice crystals further out of the stem, forming a thin, delicate “petal” of ice.
- Curling and shaping: The ice petal curls and shapes unpredictably as it’s extruded, influenced by factors such as the length and width of the crack, the temperature, and the humidity.
- Frost flower formation: The repeated process of ice crystal formation and extrusion creates a series of thin, curled ice petals, resembling flowers, which are collectively known as frost flowers.
Frost flowers are typically short-lived, as they melt or sublime (change directly from a solid to a gas) when exposed to sunlight or warmer temperatures. They usually appear in the early morning or in shaded areas, where the conditions are more favorable for their formation.
Based on my research (google search) results, it appears that frost flowers (also known as ice flowers) do not kill the plant whose stem they come from.
The process of frost flower formation involves the plant’s stem rupturing, allowing sap or water to rise from the root system and freeze on contact with the cold air. This process does not seem to harm the plant, as the stem has already ruptured, and the plant’s root system is still active.
Some species, like white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica), are known to produce frost flowers, and they do not appear to suffer damage or die as a result. In fact, the search results suggest that frost flowers are a rare and ephemeral phenomenon, often occurring only once a year, and the plants are able to recover and continue growing.
It’s worth noting that the search results do not provide information on the impact of frost flowers on plants that are already stressed, diseased, or injured. However, based on the information available, it does not seem that frost flowers themselves cause harm to the plant whose stem they come from.