Exidiopsis effusa fungi cause the ice to grow white like silver hair on the wood

A group of scientists in Germany and Switzerland have discovered Exidiopsis effusa is an agent that causes ice crystals to resemble white gray hairs growing on wood.

The fungus makes the ice grow white like silver hair on wooden items

Scientists have conducted a series of experiments to understand the conditions needed to form this tape and its properties. The results of the study, published on July 22, confirm the hypothesis of a link between the ice and fungus Alfred Wegener gave in 1918.

Exidiopsis effusa plays a role in helping ice crystals to form thin strands of hair with a diameter of about 0.01 mm and maintaining shape for many hours at temperatures near 0 ° C. The shape of the ribbon fibers is stabilized thanks to the inhibition of recrystallization in fungi.

Chemical analyzes show that ice water contains complex organic compounds such as wood and acrid substances - products from fungal metabolism. These compounds prevent the formation of large ice crystals on wood surfaces.

According to the researchers, the filamentous ice crystal is a very rare phenomenon and mainly occurs only in broad leaf forests between the latitude 45 and 55 degrees north. This type of ice crystal forms at night, melts when the sun rises, almost invisible in snow and hoarfrost.