I have been thoroughly enjoying the change of seasons in our new yard on daily walks. While the number and variety of wildflowers has waned with winter approaching, we have seen some fall blooms. Early one November morning we noticed something. A bit of white fluff among the fallen leaves. Frost Flower, Ice Flower, Ice Ribbons, Ice Leaves. They are so enchanting that I wanted to call them Winter Faerie Flowers.
My initial search online for Winter Fairies brought me Disney images. I was insulted. I had just searched scientific journals and found that writings of these formations date back to at least the 1800s. I’m Irish, in part, so I know a bit of faerie lore and how ancient that is. My reaction was to search “real winter faeries.” I caught myself. I found gorgeous images of winter fairy art, but copyright and respect prevent me from sharing.
Along the ground, nestled in browning leaves and dormant plants, these bright, ice-like curls seem like white blooms. They form in a circular pattern that reminds me of the whorls of seashells, something that I miss from the beaches in Florida. There is also a memory of ribbon candy when looking down into their delicate structures.
An online Missouri plant page that I follow, posted pictures of my Faerie Flowers around the same time of our sightings. It hurt my pride a bit to pore over their many, vivid photos of so many billowing curlicues. On our early morning notice of them, we did not have a camera along. They were gone by evening walk. One reason we moved here, was the milder winters. We could go north from Florida, enjoy a change of seasons, but without the harsh, dreary winters of our childhood in New York. These softer winters meant my new flower was elusive, as the warming day melted them.
Camera ready for several more walks and finally, with proper conditions, the fleeting flower was back. This second viewing offered a fainting bud, melting back to the ground, but I was able to get a few photos. I researched and the conditions necessary were: moist soil (Missouri? Check!); freezing overnight air temperatures, but warmer soil. What we see is active sap, coming up from the ground, through a stalk that is fragile enough to crack its sides and emit sap. The sap freezes as it gets pushed out into colder air temperatures: ice segregation.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website, there are only few varieties of plants in the state that meet these conditions: dittany, stinkweed and white crownbeard. I suppose we have at last one of those.
I am hooked. I have been looking every day. Ours were in a mossy area, yes we have bright, green moss that grows in a shaded area on one of our trails, even in winter. That’s how moist the land is here, the same land that gave us fabulous tomatoes in summer. We don’t get a great deal of rain, but water from natural springs is all over and the clay in the soil holds moisture.
Further research yielded an article by James Richard Carter in a 2013 issue of American Scientist where he stated that plants required, “pronounced xylem rays, vessels that transport sap from center to periphery of stalk.” He referred to them as, “Flowers and Ribbons of Ice,” also the title of his article. According to Carter, there are about 40 known species of plants that can create these ribbons.
I will begin bundling up earlier for the morning walk, with camera, and making sure the dog doesn’t trample any Winter Faerie Flowers. I will joyfully update photos. I’ve even taken the step of networking online with others interested in this rare “flower.”
Much like the local, seasonal, foodie frenzy over morels, I set out in search of my flower. These are coveted hunts, like a good fishing spot. I have felt the same sensation from neighbors over May apples and paw paws. A brief harvest period in a remote area, that yields a high reward and then is gone.
Thank you for taking me on your walk. I look forward to more photos!
You’re welcome. Nature and I are working on it.
Thank you for sharing beautiful photos and interesting research about this special flower new to me. And you know I love the science – truly not frost as you said since the solid did not form from water vapor but from liquid sap emitted in frosty temperatures. I wonder whether the sap is just water or water with dissolved glucose? p.s. meant to post this earlier
I enjoy the research. That’s a great question and I tried to find an answer. I believe the plant was dittany (that’s a guess from pictures of spring flowers in that approximate area) and in attempting to find the composition of the sap, I could only find a generic sap formula of water and glucose.