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Fragile white 'bloom' on dead wood in icy conditions - also known as "frost flower"
I spotted this phenomenon today in local beechwoods. I suspect that it is ice which has been extruded from the rotten branch by sub-zero temperatures overnight. If it is ice (it crushed easily in my hand, felt cold and more-or-less evaporated rather than turning to water) it is not a natural species but I thought it interesting enough to post.
This is fascinating - follow the many links at http://my.ilstu.edu/~jrcarter/ice/ to discover more
Current theories suggest that this phenomenon occurs only on wet dead beech and oak wood, and then only on branches which have been 'infected' by certain species of fungus and also under specific atmospheric conditions (not too cold, not too humid, not too windy etc.) - a Goldilocks phenomenon. Alfred Wegener, in his work as a meteorologist, published a paper on it.
Spotted on Jan 20, 2014
Submitted on Jan 20, 2014
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