Frost is the coating or deposit of ice that may form in humid air in cold conditions, usually overnight. In temperate climates, it most commonly appears as fragile white crystals or frozen dew drops near the ground, but in cold climates, it occurs in a greater variety of forms. Frost is composed of delicate, branched patterns of ice crystals that formed as the result of fractal process development.
The formation of frost is an indication that the air temperature has fallen below the freezing point of water, and plants that have evolved in warmer climates are known to suffer damage when the temperature falls low enough to freeze the water in the cells that make up the plant tissue. The tissue damage resulting from this process is known as "frost damage". Farmers in those regions where frost damage is known to affect their crops often invest in substantial means to protect their crops from such damage.
