Needle ice

Liquid water underground rises to the surface by capillary action, and then freezes and contributes to a growing needle-like ice column.

[1][2] Alternate names for needle ice are "frost pillars" ("Säuleneis" in German), "frost column", "Spew Ice", "Kammeis" (a German term meaning "comb ice"), "Stängeleis" (another German term referring to the stem-like structures), "shimobashira" (霜柱, a Japanese term meaning frost pillars), or "pipkrake" (from Swedish pipa (tube) and krake (weak, fine), coined in 1907 by Henrik Hesselman).

[3] The similar phenomena of frost flowers and hair ice can occur on living or dead plants, especially on wood.

Needle ice grows up slowly from the moist and water-penetrable soil, and melts gradually in the sun.

[7] The emergence of needle ice has been recognized as a geomorphic agent of soil disturbance, causing a number of small-scale landforms.

[8] Needle ice phenomena play a particularly significant role in patterned ground in periglacial environments.

When the needle ice melts, the seedlings do not settle correctly back into the ground causing them to die.