"Come now, a roundel and a fairy song." One of Arthur Rackham's illustrations to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. [1]

A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, Elf circle or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. The rings may grow over ten meters in diameter and become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in the grasslands and/or rangelands. Fairy rings are not only detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, but also by a necrotic zone (death grass) or a ring of dark green grass. If these manifestations are visible a fairy fungus mycelium is likely present in the ring or arc underneath. Image File history File links Come, now a roundel. ... Image File history File links Come, now a roundel. ... An illustration from Alices Adventures in Wonderland Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939) was a prolific British book illustrator. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A forest What is a Plantation forest? Ariy Fik is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, a wooded area set aside for hunting). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A sporocarp is a specialised type of fruiting body (e. ... Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. ...

Genesis

There are two theories regarding the process involved in creating fairy rings. One states that fairy ring is begun by a spore from the sporocarpus. Initially the spore lands on suitable ground, and as it starts to grow underground it pushes out mycelium (fungal threads) in all directions. As the mass of mycelium grows the central part dies off, leaving a disc of mycelium growing at the outer edge. Eventually, when season and weather allow, mushrooms are produced above the mycelium and release spores. Sometimes, several years may go by before mushrooms appear around a fairy ring. The underground presence of the fungus can also cause withering or varying colour or growth of the grass above. Many fair rings are believe to be coenocytic, meaning that an entire ring is just one large cell with multiple nuclei. This article is about a biological reproductive structure; for the video game, see Spore (video game). ... A coenocyte is a multinucleate cell. ...

The second theory, which is presented in the investigations of Japanese scientists on the Tricholoma matsutake species, shows that fairy rings could be established by connecting neighbouring oval genets of these mushrooms. If they make an arc or a ring, they continuously grow about the center of this object. Binomial name Tricholoma matsutake Matsutake (松茸, Tricholoma matsutake = syn. ... A genet is a population of plants growing in tight proximity which are all genetically identical. ...

It is said that there are about 40-60 mushroom species which can grow in the fairy ring pattern. The best known is the edible Scotch bonnet (Marasmius oreades), which is commonly known as a "fairy ring mushroom".

Necrotic or rapid growth zones

Two fairy rings (or pixie circles) marked by uneven grass growth (small one in foreground, much bigger one in background).

One of the three manifestations is a necrotic zone, or area in which grass or other plant life has withered or died. These are caused by the mycelia, which during a very dry year coat the roots of grasses and other herbs in meadows. After some time they are removed by biotic factors from the ground, at which stage we can see a zone on the surface soil. Patterns other than the basic ring or arc are also possible: circles, doubled arcs, sickle-shaped arcs, and other complicated formations are also formed by this process. Fungi can deplete the soil of readily available nutrients like nitrogen, causing plant growing within the circle to be stressed which leads to plant discolorization. Some fungi also produce chemicals that act like hormones called gibberellins, which affects plant growth, causing rapid luxuriant growth. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x893, 328 KB) Summary Two fairy rings marked by uneven grass growth -- no mushrooms showing -- in a school field in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x893, 328 KB) Summary Two fairy rings marked by uneven grass growth -- no mushrooms showing -- in a school field in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. ... A meadow is a habitat of rolling or flat terrain where grasses predominate. ... suck my shlong dick cause soil is my life pedosphere is positioned at the interface of the lithosphere and biosphere with the atmosphere and hydrosphere. ... Gibberellins are plant growth substances (phytohormones) involved in promotion of stem elongation, mobilisation of food reserves in seeds and other processes. ...

Types

There are two generally recognised types of fairy ring fungus. Those found in the woods are called theatered, due to the fact that they are formed by mycorrhizal fungi living in commensalism with trees. Meadow fairy rings are called free, because they are not connected with other organisms. These mushrooms are saprophytic. The effects on the grass depend on the type of fungus that is growing, when Calvatia cyathiformis is growing in the area grass will grow more abundently however Clitocybe gigantea will cause the grass to wither.^[1] A mycorrhiza (typically seen in the plural form mycorrhizae meaning fungus roots) is a distinct type of root symbiosis in which individual hyphae extending from the mycelium of a fungus colonize the roots of a host plant. ... Commensalism is an interaction between two living organisms, where one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped. ... A saprotroph (or saprobe) is an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds. ...

Fairy rings in folktales and mythology

In English folklore, fairy rings were said to be caused by, elves, fairies or pixies dancing in a circle, wearing down the grass beneath their feet. Toads would then sit on the mushrooms, poisoning them; hence the name toadstool. In Sussex they were called, “hag tracks”, in Devon people thought that fairies caught young horses and rode them in circles. English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries. ... For alternate meanings, see Lightning (disambiguation). ... by Sophie Anderson For other uses, see Fairy (disambiguation). ... Pixies (or Piskies as they are sometimes known in Cornwall) are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name. ... Genera Ansonia Atelopus Bufo Capensibufo Crepidophryne Dendrophryniscus Didynamipus Frostius Laurentophryne Leptophryne Melanophryniscus Mertensophryne Nectophryne Nectophrynoides Nimbaphrynoides Oreophrynella Osornophryne Pedostibes Pelophryne Peltophryne Pseudobufo Rhamphophryne Werneria Wolterstorffina The true toads are amphibians in the Bufonidae family. ...

In Scandinavian folklore, these circles were attributed to elves or witches and were called älvdanser, i.e. elf dances, älvringar, or heksering. Scandinavian folklore is the folklore of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. ...

In German-speaking Europe, fairy rings are known as Hexenringe, or "witches rings", stemming from an old medieval belief that the rings represented places where witches would have their gatherings. In Austria people thought that dragons breath burned the land. Similar myths to those in German folklore can be found in Czech, Slovak, Polish and even Russian folk tales. In the Czech language they are called čarodějné kruhy, as they are thought to have been caused by a dragons having a rest at those places. German language skills of European Union citizens. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Witchcraft. ... For other uses, see Dragon (disambiguation). ...

Another myth states that fairy rings are doors into the fairies' world, transporting people to other places or making people appear in the same place in a different time. Young ladies are also warned not to touch dew situated on the grass within the ring, due to the belief that it can cause skin problems ^[2]. Dew on a spider web Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening. ...

Trivia

• The MMORPG RuneScape features a magical fairy ring network used for transportation.
• One of the largest rings ever found is in France. It is thought to be about a half-mile in diameter and over 700 years old. [2]

An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. ...

Gallery

A fairy ring around a tree. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1522x1072, 412 KB) From nl:Afbeelding:Heksenkring. ...		A fairy ring of Chlorophyllum rhacodes. Image File history File links From de:Bild:Hexenring-2. ... Image File history File links From de:Bild:Hexenring. ... Binomial name Macrolepiota rhacodes (Vittad. ...	A fairy ring partly obscured by advancing hedgerow Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 2. ...
Ring measures 7 feet in diameter Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 × 675 pixel, file size: 606 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...	Detail of a fairy ring. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 × 675 pixel, file size: 1. ...

"Crop marks"

Sketched diagram of a negative cropmark above a wall and a positive cropmark above a ditch

Not long after WWII, the aerial surveys that were being made over large areas of Britain revealed some unexpected phenomena, undetectable from the ground. When the surveys photographed ripening crops or drought-stressed terrain they revealed what were soon termed "crop marks", the differential ripening of the crop that revealed differences in the subsoil. These patterns were found to be caused by the buried remnants of ancient buildings. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Cropmarks or Crop marks are a means through which archaeological features may be visible from the air. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Aerial survey is a method of collecting information by utilising aerial photography or from remote sensing technology using other bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared, gamma, or ultraviolet. ... A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban, human, or environmental water needs. ... Cropmarks or Crop marks are a form of archaeological feature visible from the air. ... Óģ Ķ ķ Ļ ļ Ņ ņ Ŗ ŗ Ş ş Ţ ţ Ć ć Ĺ ĺ Ń ń Ŕ ŕ Ś ś Ý ý Ź ź Đ đ Ů ů Č č Ď ď Ľ ľ Ň ň Ř ř Š š Ť ť Ž ž Ǎ ǎ Ě ě Ǐ ǐ Ǒ ǒ Ǔ ǔ Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ Ĉ ĉ Ĝ ĝ Ĥ ĥ Ĵ ĵ Ŝ ŝ Ŵ ŵ Ŷ ŷ Ă ă Ğ ğ Ŭ ŭ Ċ ċ Ė ė Ġ ġ İ ı Ż ż Ą ą Ę ę Į į Ų ų Ł ł Ő ő Ű ű Ŀ ŀ Ħ ħ Ð ð Þ þ Œ œ Æ æ Ø ø Å å Ə ə – — … [] [[]] {{}} ~ | ° § → ≈ ± − × ¹ ² ³ ‘ “ ’ ” £ € Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π Ρ ρ Σ σ ς Τ τ Υ υ Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω ...

References

1. ^ Böttcher, Helmuth M. Miracle Drugs William Henemann Ltd. London 1963 p. 227
2. ^ Blake, M. 2006. Fairy mysterious. Available from: http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/latestheadlines/display.var.913422.0.fairy_mysterious.php.

External links

• Fairy Ring information
• Marasmius oreades from California Fungi
• Marasmius oreades as Norwegian fungus of the month, with ring photographs - from webarchive