Fairy Circles or Mushrooms? (Pics)

I was driving this morning, when something on the side of the road caught my attention.

A LARGE circle of mushrooms. I stopped so I could see the large circle and then noticed there were THREE LARGE circles of mushrooms all in the same yard.

I thought they were so beautiful that I stopped to get a picture of them.



I did some Googling and found they are referred to as "Fairy Circles". I had never heard of these before.

Earthsky.org:

These fungi start growing underground from a single spore. The spore sprouts a tangle of tube-like threads, which spread out horizontally in all directions – like spokes radiating from the hub of a wheel. That’s what gives rise to the circular pattern. The part of the fungus you see – the mushrooms – springs up at the edge of the circle.

From Earthsky.org:

Only a few kinds of mushrooms form fairy rings. You might have seen the mushroom called the Giant Puffball. Mushrooms are a type of fungus, and fairy rings form as a result of the way certain types of fungi grow.

So, what kind of mushrooms are these?





These are LARGE circles, so large I had to get ON TOP of my car and hold the camera up to get a picture.



Do you know anything about them, why they do this, or the legend behind them?

It's where fairies dance and such.

Nice pics. I love mushrooms.

These are fairly common. I know of a few places where the spring up year after year.

As always...you have to love the creations of Mother Nature.

en.wikipedia.org...

A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring [1] or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. The rings may grow to over 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as by a necrotic zone (dead grass), or a ring of dark green grass. If these manifestations are visible a fairy fungus mycelium is likely to be present in the ring or arc underneath.

Fairy rings also occupy a prominent place in European folklore as the location of gateways into elfin kingdoms, or places where elves gather and dance. According to the folklore, a fairy ring appears when a fairy, pixie, or elf appears. It will disappear without trace in less than five days, but if an observer waits for the elf to return to the ring, he or she may be able to capture it.

reply to post by isyeye
Yes, they were beautiful!

I thought it odd they grew in circles!
Two of the circles grew tightly together, while the third ring of mushrooms grew loosely together.


reply to post by zonetripper2065
Do you know which kind these might be? They did not look like the mushrooms that grew in my backyard.

Thanks for the pics. I didn't know they could be that big!

I usually get them in my back yard, but they are the small light brown toadstool looking mushrooms with the circle being about 2-3 feet across.

Are some of those puff balls? They look really large in the pics?

reply to post by chiefsmom
The rings were HUGE, about a car length or bigger in diameter!

Some mushrooms were smaller and some were HUGE! But I do not think they are puff ball mushrooms.

oh wow....what great photos......and I agree....how bizzare these grew in circles? My background is in horticulture and this boggles the mind....they do seem to be "planted" by design......have always been facinated by fairies.....have a great collection of fairy pics on my FB page.....very cool.............

It does seem that in folklore and art we often see mushrooms referenced to "magical" creatures...the obvious reason being it is a "drug"....but may be much deeper? Great thread.....

As I understand it is one single organism , the mushrooms are only the "flower"reproduction unit of the undergrowing organism.



The largest living single organism in the world is a fungus covering several states.

Largest organism

Now all you have to do is make a cool fairy house out of twigs and stuff for the fairies.
Would make for an interesting conversational piece anyway.

reply to post by NaeBabii


Fairy rings are huge in Europe, especially in Ireland and Iceland. I have read where roads have been diverted in order to preserve fairy rings. Some of the lore changes from place to place but this is to be expected. There also a all time favorite fairy photo called "Cottingley Fairies", you can read more here...

Cottingley Fairies
www.en.wikipedia.org

reply to post by NaeBabii


Fairy rings are huge in Europe, especially in Ireland and Iceland. I have read where roads have been diverted in order to preserve fairy rings. Some of the lore changes from place to place but this is to be expected. There also a all time favorite fairy photo called "Cottingley Fairies", you can read more here...

Cottingley Fairies
www.en.wikipedia.org

Originally posted by EartOccupant
As I understand it is one single organism , the mushrooms are only the "flower"reproduction unit of the undergrowing organism.



The largest living single organism in the world is a fungus covering several states.

Largest organism

edit on 15-10-2012 by EartOccupant because: (no reason given)

That was really interesting article...TY...my first thought as well is that is an underground type of root system....but still wouldn't explain the circles? LOL...I wanna help build a fairy house...

Originally posted by EartOccupant
As I understand it is one single organism , the mushrooms are only the "flower"reproduction unit of the undergrowing organism.



The largest living single organism in the world is a fungus covering several states.

Largest organism

edit on 15-10-2012 by EartOccupant because: (no reason given)

Actually yes Mushrooms are just the "edge" of one big OLD spirit..
Aspen trees are all one thing as well.

Grass and other plants like it are also one thing, at least as far as having one energy, and no separate identity..
I don't know scientifically/genetically about that being true.

You could say that mushrooms have shown me this in their own special way.

I think it would be cool to sit in the middle of a "fairy" ring and meditate. I bet they have good energy..

Very cool find there girl. Thanks for sharing.

IMO, I still believe in fairies so they do seem to meet the criterion for a fairy ring. That you found them shows something special about you.

reply to post by NaeBabii


NaeBabii, from a metaphysical standpoint those very well can be areas where those known as elkvz aka current date elfs enter and exit this dimension and that could be a trace of their presence. They are seen in different styles around the globe so who knows. like those seen here:




Mysterious bare spots called "fairy circles" dotting the sandy desert grasslands of Nambia have long stumped scientists who have no idea how the strange patterns form.



From a more scientific pov they seem to be fungi that grow in a certain part of the soil below ground and the flowers from them tend to come up above ground in a certain radius from the center or base of the fungi roots. Still whose to say those specific sites around the world don't possess some paranormal or metaphysical properties not understood as of yet. Maybe some paranormal scientist will do global research on them in time to detect electromagnetic out put energy ect. from these areas. As another member said maybe try and sit inside one of them and see if you feel anything different within your personal energy field.

Yes the mushrooms are the flowering part of a mycelium which grows under ground. Most of the organism is out of sight in the soil. It usually grows from a central point into a circle and then the mushrooms form on the outer part of the circle so they can spread spoors beyond the limits of the organism.

Our local golf course has a ring of mushies too, surrounding a green patch of grass, it's fantastic.

very cool op