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fairy ring.jpg|thumb|right|''"Come now, a roundel and a fairy song."'' One of Arthur Rackham's illustrations to William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. http://classics.freehomepage.com/midsummer/midsummer.html A fairy ring, also known as a 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.
Genesis Initially a spore (the fungal equivalent of a seed) lands on some suitable ground. It starts to grow underground, pushing 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 are seen at a fairy ring. The underground presence of the fungus sometimes causes withering or varying colour or growth of the grass above. Although the edible Marasmius oreades is best known as the "fairy ring mushroom", other species of fungus, some of which are poisonous to humans, may also form arcs or rings. This mushroom is also called Scotch bonnet. Fairy rings in folks In English folklore, fairy rings were said to be caused by fairies or pixies dancing in a circle, wearing down the grass beneath their feet. Toads would then sit on the basidia, poisoning them, hence the name toadstool. In Scandinavian folklore, these circles were attributed to the elves and were called älvdanser, i.e. elf dances. In German-speaking Europe, fairy rings are known as Hexenringe, or "witches rings", stemming from an old mediaeval belief that the rings represented places where witches would have their gatherings. Another myth states that fairy rings are doors into the fairies world, transporting people to other places, or make people appear in the same place in a different time. Gallery Image:Heksenkring.jpg|A fairy ring around a tree. Image:Hexenring-2.jpg| Image:Hexenring.jpg|A fairy ring of Macrolepiota rhacodes. Image:FairyRingSchoolField.jpg|Two fairy rings marked by uneven grass growth (small one in foreground, much bigger one in background) | ||||||||
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