Frostweed

Also known as White Crownbeard, Virginia Crownbeard, Iceflower

Frostweed is famous for an extraordinary late-season physiological display, where freezing autumn temperatures cause moisture inside the lower stem to burst through the bark into delicate, curled ribbons of white ice. Throughout late summer and autumn, its prominent winged stems support dense heads of small white composite flowers that provide a critical nectar stopover for migrating monarch butterflies. Thriving in shaded bottomlands and forest margins, this sturdy perennial readily colonizes rich soils across the American Southeast.