We photographed several frost flowers on a cold December morning. For those of you new to these unusual formations, this particular plant is White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica), also known as Frostweed. It's a common plant in our area, especially along the edges of cedar glades and barrens.

These "frost flowers" occur as the sap in the stems expands due to freezing temperatures, pushing water through cracks in the stem.

When the water is exposed to cold air, it freezes into delicate ribbons of ice and a variety of fascinating shapes. These formations normally appear early in the morning and soon melt as the sun emerges and temperatures warm. ​These ice sculptures have been given many names: frost flowers, ice ribbons, ice flowers, ice fringes, ice fingers, ice filaments, ice leaves, frost ribbons, frost beards, frost castles, crystallofolia (a name penned by Bob Harms of The University of Texas), rabbit ice, and rabbit butter. Click on the image for more photos!