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Saturday, December 13, 2014

Fairies in the Yard

Have fairies danced in your yard? — they have in ours and in neighborhood yards too.

According to legend, fairies or pixies often gather at night. Dancing in a circle, wearing down the grass and leaving a trampled ring of brown or dead grass. A day later, mushrooms spring up encircling the dance ring. It's been said that since toads sat on the mushrooms, they became referred to as “toadstools.”

Many believed fairies caused this phenomena and called the circles fairy rings, fairy circles, or pixie rings.
A mushroom ring provides the most obvious evidence of these rings. When "fairy" ring mushrooms first appear, there are numerous fruiting bodies (mushrooms) that look like small bulbs on top of long stalks. 

When mature, mushrooms are large and the bulb expands. The circles are the result of a pattern of mycelium growth. 

Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus and is the underground organism that produces the reproductive fruit bodies known as mushrooms. The circular growth pattern is a factor of soil type,condition, soil nutrients, obstructions underground, and dirt composition. The ground needs to be even and well composed, which is why the rings appear on lawns.

The organic matter that fairy rings break down is often tree stumps, roots, logs, and pieces of organic material in soil below the lawn. As these depletes, the fairy ring(s) disappear.

Several fairy rings may look together on lawns that were wooded. Yet, they don’t cross each other; fungal activity stops when fungi from different rings contact each other. (It seems mushrooms are not as social as they look.)
You can only notice these rings once mushrooms crop up on grassy lawn areas. However, the circular mycelium underground is always present and growing.

Yes, I believe that fairies dance in the rings on our lawn.

And, just wondering . . .

Do you believe it too? ('tis the season for believing)

17 comments:

MadSnapper said...

that is a lot of different types and sizes and shapes. now i know why we don't have them. we have no grass. the pics i have taken were in plush green grass that belongs to neighbors... i believe in toads turning into a prince if you kiss them so why not fairies to

L. D. said...

After seeing two photos of them in a curve, I have to be a believer.

William Kendall said...

They certainly make for pleasant patterns.

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Well, certainly there are fairies.
First Christmas in your new home? How does it feel to move? I had no trouble leaving NJ for MD 17 years ago, but am having difficulty leaving MD for NJ for the sake of being near the grandchildren. When I truly begin to walk in that direction, I simply shut down. Drat.
:) m & jb

Emma Springfield said...

Of course I believe in fairies and fairy rings. The unseen mysteries are the most intriguing. Just ask Santa Claus.

Country Gal said...

Oh look fungi I love fungi lol one never knows if it was fairies or not that put them here like this . Cute post , Thanks for sharing, have a good day !

Anvilcloud said...

I never knew about this legend.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Although unaware of this legend, I am going to look for circles!!!!...:)JP

Anonymous said...

We call them witch rings here but I can't at the moment remember the story to why they show up. Long time since I had any witch rings in my garden but I think they might turn up soon again since two trees now are gone, above ground that is.

Have a great day!
Christer.

possum said...

Yes, we have had a lot of then this year.

Lois Evensen said...

How pretty!

Out on the prairie said...

I have heard a few fairies giggling behind me.

Montanagirl said...

You saw a nice variety of mushrooms!

diane b said...

The phenomenon sure does lend itself to fantasy. A good capture of the fairy ring.

DeniseinVA said...

If you came out at night. Maybe you would see fairies sitting on them ;)

Connie said...

We had a fairy ring in the yard at the house where I grew up. Of course I believe. :D Great pictures!

Cicero Sings said...

My neighbour up the street gets fairy rings in his yard and he gets annoyed no end by them! I think they are kind of cool.