Hair Ice

In a short walk around Reelig Wood this afternoon I saw lots of hair ice (also known as ice wool or frost beard). I have often seen it in Reelig Wood in winter, but never in such abundance as today. There were growths everywhere, conspicuous against  the golden brown of the leaves on the forest floor. It forms on dead wood in deciduous forests when conditions are  humid and the temperature is around 0 C, which describes today  perfectly. It is due to a fungus, Exidiopsis effusa, in association with tiny ice crystals.  I guess the ice crystals from on the mycelium, but they must be very small as it is not brittle, it is soft to the touch, like hair, but if you break some off it melts immediately and dissolves into pure water, the mycelium is completely invisible.