I’ve noticed something interesting and unusual popping up in yards everywhere recently; have you? Fairy rings! They seem to be especially abundant this year, perhaps because we’ve gotten so much moisture or maybe I’m just noticing them more right now than I ever have before. Either way, these mushroom circles are a fascinating natural phenomenon with a cool backstory and lots of associated lore.
Fairy rings, also known as elf rings, fairy circles, or pixie circles, are a grouping of mushrooms that spring up almost overnight in lawns or woodlands in an arc pattern, often forming a complete circle.
These fungal circles can be large or small, and they can be free-standing in the middle of a purely grass pasture or tethered to and growing around an old, dead stump in a lawn or in the forest.
Fairy circles have been the subject of much myth and folklore for hundreds, if not thousands, of years...and they usually aren't portrayed too positively.
Some say entering a fairy ring will cause an early death. Others claim that the fairies will entrap you and force you to dance to exhaustion. Here, in artwork from the 1800s, a good friend is seen plucking his companion from the midst of a fairy dance.
But what actually causes fairy circles isn't quite so exciting (or myth-inspiring) as the idea of a group of devious fairy folk.
Most experts speculate that the ring of mushrooms develops from a central spore that sends out an underground network of hyphal threads in all directions, forming a circular pattern that can manifest as a fairy ring. It's also possible, though, that rather than originating from a spore, these rings originate as connected, clonal colonies of a neighboring fungus. Either way, they're fun to spot in your yard or a neighbor's!
What do you believe about fairy rings? Have you noticed them popping up with extra frequency all around the state this year, or is this just normal? Let us know in the comments!
And for another cool fungal phenomenon in West Virginia, check out these glow-in-the-dark mushrooms that have been spotted in our woods.
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