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Hair Ice Fungus - Exidiopsis effusa

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Meet the incredible Hair Ice Fungus in this short clip taken from a longer upcoming winter mushroom hunting video.
This amazing sight is the only known ice that is actually created by a fungus. Although still in the process of being researched, Exidiopsis effusa is believed to create a sort of antifreeze solution that prevents the ice that you see here from recrystallizing. Instead, it forms these micro hairlike fibers (that are actually 10x thinner than a human hair!).
Exidiopsis effusa grows in hardwood species. Here in the Pacific Northwest, I have only seen this hair ice coming out of Red Alder, but if you're located out east, I believe you may also observe this coming from Beech or Oak.
This is a rare sight because the conditions have to be just perfect. We're looking for a situation where there is a lot of moisture and the temperatures dip just below freezing, but not cold enough for the ground to freeze. Essentially, this is the perfect frost condition... but this isn't a form of frost. This is a result of capillary action. You'll notice that the hair ice will bend towards heat as it grows, giving it a wild wavy, flowing pattern. Analysis of the melt water has revealed the presence of tannins and lignins in the actual ice.
This is quite a sight to see! So if you're located here in the PNW, get outside and see if you can catch a glimpse. It is super fleeting, so if you missed it this time around, keep your eye on the weather and try to catch those perfect condition windows.
Thanks for watching - and Happy Trails!
This was filmed in Western Washington on the morning of 2/16/24.
#mushroom #fungi #mushroomhunting

Опубликовано:

25 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 10

@detritic 6 месяцев назад

I think this is the only video I've found of these

@MushroomTrail 6 месяцев назад

Cool! I don't hear much about this one because it is such a fleeting little thing that is widely unknown or under-appreciated. Even though it was hypothesized to have fungal origins all the way back in 1918, it wasn't until 2015 that Exidiopsis effusa was officially confirmed and identified as the catalyst. Thanks for tuning in! And Happy Trails!

@crystalshabazian1178 6 месяцев назад

such an amazing beautiful find, i've never seen anything like it 😍

@MushroomTrail 6 месяцев назад

Right?!? Such a mysterious, beautiful little wonder! So hard to believe that the artist behind that creation is a fungus. Thanks so much for tuning in!

@willong1000 4 месяца назад

Fascinating stuff. What I couldn't understand is why, being composed of such fine filaments, the ice did not instantly melt in the heat of your fingers. It wasn't clear to me if the "hairs" were actually water ice, mycelial filaments or a combination of both. Looking into the phenomenon a bit more, those hairs are indeed water ice as I understand it. RU-vid channel "European Geosciences" has posted a timelapse video of hair ice growing. (See: "Timelapse video of growing hair ice") Interesting tidbit: "Rather brilliantly, this micro magic was first discovered by Alfred Wegener, the same man who noticed continental drift, one of Earth’s most macro phenomena. In 1918, he spotted that wood that hosted this strange ice had a delicate filigree of cottony fibres on its surface - the mycelial threads of a fungus - and postulated that this was relevant to the ice formation." Quote from BBC Discover Wildlife webpage article.

@MushroomTrail 4 месяца назад

Nice! I'll have to check out that timelapse! And super interesting that Wegener was the one to make the observation and correctly postulate the role of a fungus. He was really tuned in!

@treadwell8481 6 месяцев назад

@MushroomTrail observed these in Skagway Alaska at nearly 60°N and they were quite common around Juneau. Usually associated with black cottonwood and slide alder twigs

@MushroomTrail 6 месяцев назад

Awesome! That is super good information - and really cool to see this breaking the northern lines of latitude that I typically associate with this one. That also makes me want to pay closer attention to the black cottonwood down here in Western WA (I've only seen it on Red Alder down here... but I bet if you're seeing it on Black Cottonwood up there, there is a good chance that's happening here in my home forest too) Thanks for the insight! And Happy Trails!

@dcfromthev 6 месяцев назад

Never see these here in coastal Norcal, probably just a bit too warm here even in the dead of winter. Awesome find!

@MushroomTrail 6 месяцев назад

I think you're exactly right -- I believe that even though you're close, in Northern California you're just below that 45° North latitude boundary ... so if it does occur, it is probably that much more rare.