Somerset resident discovers hair ice on walk through woods near Chard

...well, you might be if you like to walk in the woods near one Somerset town.

A lucky resident managed to find a rare phenomenon on her travels - hair ice, also known as frost flowers.

Ingrid Edginton, from Floweringi in Chard, was enjoying a walk in the woods, when she discovered the fungus.

"For many years I had gone on wintery woodland walks in search of hair ice, also known as frost flowers," she said.

"To my utter delight I came across this unusual and rare phenomenon in the woods near Chard.

"At first, I thought I could see what looked like white candy floss on the fallen leaves but when I took a close look, I could see what looked like hundreds of strands of white hair, I had come across the elusive hair ice."

These individual strands of what looks like hair disappear as soon as someone touches them, or they melt in the winter sun.

The conditions are extremely specific for frost flowers to form. The crystals grow on damp rotting wood from a broadleaf tree.

Moist air must be present, with a temperature slightly below 1C. Ms Edginton explained a specific fungus must be also present - Exidiopsis effusa - which leads to a process called ice segregation, which causes the frost flowers.