Link to newsround

Check out the ice that looks like hair

Image of a large mass of fine hair-like strands of white ice. The white ice threads are attached to a stick. In the background can be seen grown autumn leaves and twigs Cynthia Dallow

Hair ice has been spotted in Gloucestershire and Somerset

Is it a bird? Is it a dog? No, it's ice that looks like hair!

Rare candy floss-like ice formations known as hair ice have been spotted in England.

According to the Met Office, it forms when there's a particular fungus in rotting wood, that then produces thin strands of ice that looks like hair or candy floss.

It's an extremely rare sighting, so when a walker spotted the ice, she thought it was a piece of rubbish.

What is hair ice?

Image of a large mass of fine hair-like strands of white ice. The white ice threads are attached to a stick. In the background can be seen grown autumn leaves and twigs Cynthia Dallow

Hair ice is also known as frost beard, and was first found in 1918.

It's a rare sight to see, because the conditions have to be perfect.

Hair ice can generally only be found in latitudes between 45°N and 55°N.

The air temperature needs to be just under 0°C, and colder than the wood, which cannot be frozen.

And the rotting wood must have the special ingredient of Exidiopsis effusa - a fungus.

So if you ever spot it - you must be hair-ily lucky!