White fibrous stuff a bit like snow

[Mark Tulley]

Hello All,

I found this white substance on lots of fallen small branches/twigs of birch, in the woods at Dunkeld (Perthshire). It looks remarkably like lumps of snow clinging to the branches, but it isn't. Not sure if it is a fungus or what. A learned friend has been completely baffled by it.




Any suggestions would be welcome. I need to take a photo of an area of the woods, with lots of this white stuff lying around. Will maybe go back later this week.

Thanks,
Mark

PS- How do I embed photos in the text ? The method above seems clumsy

[Little Firewall]

Polyester from a duvet?

Sorry can't be more helpful.

[FungiJohn]

If it is a fungi it may possibly be a phanerochaete species ... tuberculata?

Certainly different
John

[silverfish]

A slime mould (Myxomycete) is another possibility. Some do have a thread-like form.

[Mark Tulley]

Thanks for your helpful suggestions. It is nice to put a name to something even if it is a bit tenuous. I will do some Googling on the suggested names to see if I can find pictures that match mine.

I went back to the woods this afternoon armed with a specimen pot and DSLR to take more pictures, but found that the whole lot has vanished. There was not a trace on the branches which were heavily infested only 14 days ago. The same is true of other areas of the wood where the bloom was very evident then and nothing to see now. Perhaps it will appear next year and I can put it under a microscope.

Thanks again,
Mark

[StephB]

I know this is an old thread but wondering if fugus ever got identified? I've also seen this recently in woods in Callander, Stirling & can't find anything about it.

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by StephB

I know this is an old thread but wondering if fugus ever got identified? I've also seen this recently in woods in Callander, Stirling & can't find anything about it.

this appeared recently on another thread - the image was removed because it was an external one, but this tells you what it is

Strange fungi?

explained by "Mollisia" very well - an ice formation initiated by fungal activity and particular environmental conditions

see also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuyViwX9CCk

Chris

[Mark Tulley]

I certainly agree that it was an ice formation. I took samples the following year and found that they simply melted, so I concluded it was ice.
I am interested to learn that fungal activity is involved in the formation.

Mark

[StephB]

Thanks for the info & link to thread - mystery solved!