These lovely sunworshippers caught our eye as they swayed and bobbed in the sea breezes above Naskeag Harbor on Wednesday, June 23. We’re told that they’re Frostweed, a native field plant also known botanically as Helianthemum canadense.
Frostweed produces flowers only where there is sunlight, and those flowers turn to face the sun, itself; that is, the flowers are “heliotropic.” Thus, the plant’s scientific genus name is based on the Greek words for sun (“helios”) and flower (“anthemon”).
You might reasonably ask: How can a plant that loves the sun be called Frostweed? Well, sap drips from parts of the stem and often turns into sparkling tiny ice crystals after a fall cold snap. (Brooklin, Maine)