Frost weed

[brooksbeefarm]

I weht to check my bee yards in north Mo.When I pulled off the road onto the lane I seen something white around the base of several tall weeds.My first thought was someone had killed a deer and the white stuff was hair off of one of our white tail deer?When I checked, it was frost (kind of spiked white ice) and the weed was some type of mint because it had a square stem?This was in a woods and lots of other weeds and brush but this weed was the only plant that had frost around it!s base?(really weird)When I got home the news caster was talking about people seeing frost weed,so that answered my question.I was born and raised in these hills and hollows and this was the first time I remember seeing them,(or I never payed attention)Have any of you seen them?it!s a mint so the bees must work it?:scratch:

[dragonfly]

If it's the same thing we call Frostweed here in this area, the bees do work it, and I have some seeds I can send you if you want them. It is a good late summer and early fall source here. There's another plant that is also known as frostweed, so we may be talking about two different plants. The one that grows here is Verbesina virginica.

[brooksbeefarm]

Dragonfly,Yes that!s the weed ,also called (white crownbeard and wing-stem frostweed) in my wild flowers of Mo. book.It blooms from Aug. to oct. in our area. I don!t need any seed but thanks for the offer.When I went to take down my deer stand I walked around in the woods and found alot of it mixed in with the wild raspberries.I guess the conditions must have to be just right for this to happen.Like I said I grew up in these woods, hills and hollows and this is the first time I!ve seen them and i!m 70 years old?:s Jack

[wayacoyote]

funny this came up. I had been seeing this for 4 years and never knew what it was. Just last week, a co-worker taking a botany class told me about it. Cool that you were discussing it. I find it in the coves between hills and just thought that the down-draft of fridgid air caused frost to collect on the stems and then linger longer in the shaded coves. Now I know better.