Long-branched Frost-weed; Frost-flower; Frost-wort; Canadian
Rockrose
_Helianthemum canadense_
_Flowers_--Solitary, or rarely 2; about 1 in. across, 5-parted, with
showy yellow petals; the 5 unequal sepals hairy. Also abundant small
flowers lacking petals, produced from the axils later. _Stem:_ Erect, 3
in. to 2 ft. high; at first simple, later with elongated branches.
_Leaves:_ Alternate, oblong, almost seated on stem.
_Preferred Habitat_--Dry fields, sandy or rocky soil.
_Flowering Season_--Petal-bearing flowers, May-July.
_Distribution_--New England to the Carolinas, westward to Wisconsin
and Kentucky.
When the stubble in the dry fields is white some cold November morning,
comparatively few notice the ice crystals, like specks of glistening
quartz, at the base of the stems of this plant. The similar Hoary
Frost-weed (_H. majus_), whose showy flowers appear in clusters at the
hoary stem’s summit in June and July, also bears them. Often this ice
formation assumes exquisite feathery, whimsical forms, bursting the
bark asunder where an astonishing quantity of sap gushes forth and
freezes. Indeed, so much sap sometimes goes to the making of this
crystal flower, that it would seem as if an extra reservoir in the soil
must pump some up to supply it with its large fantastic corolla.