vivien
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:32:55 -0800
Hi Penny They are beautiful, I've never seen anything quite like them, although I have seen some less interesting shapes formed by ice over chalk. I have also seen ice flowers or similar, as described by Roger Jones, on branches in very cold conditions in Scotland. I did wonder if they were caused by sap from ruptured cells that froze, thawed and re-froze but unfortunately on each occasion they were growing out over rivers in spate and further investigation was not possible. I agree that your finds were entirely made of ice but on the subject of frozen fungi I have noticed that a range of species are quite resistant to freezing and once thawed will continue to drop spores. I looked at several species under the microscope and it could be seen that the basidia had been undamaged and were still be in the process of making new spores. Cheers Vivien _____ From: adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk [mailto:adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk] On Behalf Of pennygr...@sussexwt.org.uk Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 12:32 To: adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk Subject: [Adastra] Ice Mushrooms Hello everyone, Whilst walking in Kingley Vale a few weeks ago, we noticed lots of icy protrusions coming from the ground. On further inspection we noticed that they were mostly all mushroom-shaped, and were coming out of individual lumps of chalk as if the water had been drawn out of the chalk and in to this distinct shape. We'd never seen this before, has anyone else? I attach some pictures in case you're interested! All the best, Penny <<icemushroom1.JPG>> <<icemushroom2.JPG>> <<icemushroom3.JPG>> Penny Green Species Officer Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre http://sxbrc.org.uk <http://sxbrc.org.uk/> <http://sxbrc.org.uk> | 01273 497521 _____ Sussex Wildlife Trust is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act. Registered in England, Company No. 698851. Registered Charity No. 207005. VAT Registration No. 191 305969. Registered Office: Woods Mill, Henfield, West Sussex BN5 9SD. Telephone 01273 492630