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The recent cold snap across the United States has brought not only snow and freezing temperatures, but also an even more adorable sight: frosty flowers.
These delicate structures, consisting of thin ribbons snowFluff in intricate patterns as frozen water passes through the cracks in the stems of some plants.
Resembling spun sugar or delicate glass, these icy flowers are incredibly delicate, dissolving at the slightest touch and lasting only a few hours.
They are commonly seen in the eastern US, especially in northern areas where severe frost is more prevalent.
For many, their appearance is a recognized natural phenomenon, announcing the arrival of winter and inspiring early risers to catch a glimpse before the morning sun arrives.
Earlier this week, residents Indiana, missouriAnd Tennessee Adorable photos were shared on social media, showing fields and gardens decorated with these unique natural sculptures just after the severe frost.
Alan Templeton, an expert in conservation genetics and professor emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis, highlighted their short-lived nature.
“You have to be in the right place, at the right time,” he explained. “You look at them and you know they’ll be gone in an hour or two. So there’s this very short-lived, but highly changeable beauty, and it’s that combination that attracts me to them so much.”
While intricate snow patterns are found near the bases of some common plants, including white and yellow feather plants, Templeton explained that conditions have to be just right for them to appear. And once they do, they won’t come back for another year.
The ground must be warm and wet enough to allow water to travel from the plant’s roots to the stem, while the air must be cold enough to freeze the liquid so that it breaks away from the stem and forms a flower.
That said, they are found only on a few different types of plants because the phenomenon can only occur if the stem is able to retain water in the fall or early winter and is weak enough to break against the pressure of ice.
Plants also need an especially active root system late in the year.
Templeton said he first found frost flowers while inspecting a field decades ago missouri Ozarks for Field Work.
“They’re really beautiful,” he said. “And each is unique too. No two frosted flowers are alike.”
After looking into it on Monday Season When conditions would be suitable for this event, he set out for a conservation area in St. Louis County where he had found hundreds of individuals in previous years.
This time, there were only two dozen, he said, possibly due to the sighting earlier than usual and the temperature not dropping low enough.
Crystal has lived in Legance Tennessee for most of his life, but he said he only discovered frosted flowers three years ago when his family moved to a more rural part of the state.
After seeing them on a small unmaintained tract of land while driving to work in McKenzie, about 47 miles (75 kilometers) to the north-east. jacksonShe 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 in her hands.
,People They spend their whole lives here and they never even know they exist because they never look for them or they’re not in the right place at the right time,” she said.