A recent cold snap across the United States has brought not only snow and freezing temperatures but also a more enchanting spectacle: frost flowers.
These delicate formations, comprising thin ribbons of ice, unfurl in intricate patterns as frozen water pushes through the slits of certain plant stems.
Resembling spun sugar or delicate glass, these icy blooms are incredibly fragile, dissolving at the slightest touch and only gracing us for a few hours.
They are most commonly observed in the eastern U.S, particularly in northern regions where severe frosts are more prevalent.
For many, their appearance is a recognised natural phenomenon, heralding the arrival of winter and prompting early risers to seek a fleeting glimpse before the morning sun claims them.
Earlier this week, residents in Indiana, Missouri, and Tennessee shared captivating images across social media, revealing fields and gardens adorned with these unique natural sculptures in the immediate aftermath of a hard frost.
Professor Emeritus Alan Templeton of Washington University in St. Louis, a specialist in conservation genetics, highlighted their ephemeral nature.
“You have to be at the right time, at the right place,” he explained. “You see them and you know theyâre going to be gone in an hour or two. So itâs this very ephemeral, but highly variable beauty, and itâs that combination that makes me so fascinated by them.”
While the intricate ice patterns are found near the base of a few common plants, including white and yellow wingstem plants, Templeton explained that the conditions need to be just right for them to appear. And once they do, they wonât be back for another year.
The ground must be warm and wet enough for water to travel up from the plantâs roots into the stem, while the air needs to be cold enough to freeze the liquid so that it breaks through the stem, creating the flower-like appearance.
Theyâre only found on a few different types of plants because the phenomenon can only occur if the stem is able to hold water in the fall or early winter and is weak enough to break against the pressure from the ice, he said.
The plants also need to have an especially active root system later in the year.
Templeton said he first came across frost flowers decades ago while scoping out an area in the Missouri Ozarks for field work.
âTheyâre really beautiful,â he said. âAnd also each one is unique. Thereâs no two frost flowers that are the same.â
On Monday, after noticing that the weather conditions would be ripe for the phenomenon, he set out for a conservation area in St. Louis County where heâd found hundreds in past years.
This time, there were only about two dozen, which he said was likely due to them appearing earlier than usual and the temperatures not dipping quite low enough.
Crystal Legens has lived in Tennessee for most of her life but said she only discovered frost flowers three years ago when her family moved into a more rural part of the state.
After seeing them along a small unmaintained tract of land while driving to work in McKenzie, some 47 miles (75 kilometers) northeast of Jackson, she said she initially thought they were spider webs or silkworms. When she got out of her car and picked them up, she said they broke apart in her hands.
âPeople live here their whole life and they never even know that exist because they just never see them or theyâre not in the right place at the right time,â she said.
