The Secret Growing Beneath Fairy Rings
What subterranean phenomenon is behind the creation of fairy rings?
You’re outside, walking through the green grass. Maybe you’re out walking your dog, stretching your legs, getting some much-needed fresh air. Maybe you’re simply there to appreciate the bird songs as the tiny feathered creatures flit about, flying from one tree to another, hopping from branch to branch.
Maybe you’re going down a new path, exploring the unknown environment you find yourself in. Maybe you’re going down the same path you’ve gone down a thousand times before, and the familiarity is comforting to you.
Maybe there is dew clinging to the grass in the early morning, the moisture seeping into your shoes. Or maybe the sun is shining high in the blue sky, clouds slowly passing it by, making the shadows on the ground dance.
Maybe there’s a light breeze. Maybe the air is still and heavy.
Maybe you’re planning out your day as you take step after step, wondering what you should cook for dinner. Maybe your day’s almost over and you can’t wait for the moment that you can wrap yourself up in your blanket, place your head on your pillow and go to sleep.
No matter what it is, all thoughts cease the moment you spot it.
A circle.
A near-perfect circle on the ground in front of you out here in nature. Maybe this circle is made of mushrooms. Maybe it’s made of darker, longer, more luscious grass. Or quite to the contrary, maybe it’s made of dying grass — dry and yellow and wilting.
Regardless of this circle’s appearance, it remains the same thing.
A fairy ring.
Some say that these circles appear after long nights of fairies and elves dancing, scoring the earth with their repetitive movements. Others claim it to be witches doing the dancing. In some cultures, they forgo dancing altogether, believing these formations to be the resting places of fiery dragons.
The real explanation behind these strange rings?
Fungi.
A fungus spore will find itself in a new location. Maybe carried there by the wind. Maybe hidden away in a raindrop. That spore will germinate, and from it, the fungus will grow. Fine, thread-like structures called hyphae will develop, branching out in all directions, creating an intricate network underneath the soil: the mycelium.
This mycelium will radiate out from that central point where that one spore landed, expanding further and further in a circular manner.
As it spreads out, the fungus will release chemicals into the nearby soil, breaking down organic matter. This will free up precious nutrients in preparation for the mycelium’s advancement.
For a short while, the soil at the front of the subterranean network will be fertile and rich, which the plants will take full advantage of. Grass will become greener and denser, more luxuriant than the neighbouring grass, a band of vivid dark green at the edge of the mycelium.
This is the creation of a fairy ring. At least, one type of fairy ring.
Sometimes, when the conditions are just right, that ever-growing fungus will produce fruiting bodies on the fringes of its expansion. These fruiting bodies are what we call mushrooms. They will shoot up out of the ground with the sole purpose of dispersing more spores and propagating the species.
This allows us to bear witness to a more familiar fairy ring composed of a circle of mushrooms.
Life and growth require sustenance. As this ring widens and as the fungus feeds, the nutrients and available water in the centre will dissipate, the fungus taking all the resources for itself, leaving little for the grass.
In this instance, a new kind of fairy ring can appear. A circle of faded, wilting or even dead grass.
The fungus will continue to use up those nutrients until there is nothing left for the mycelium to absorb, eventually leading to that older, central mycelium’s death.
But death isn’t always the end of life.
Upon its demise, the mycelium will return nutrients to the soil, allowing the grass to grow back, filling out the centre of the circle.
If there are no obstacles in its path, a fairy ring will grow for years and years. Sometimes, the mycelium can continue reaching out into unknown soil for centuries. One fairy ring in France is over 600 metres in diameter (almost half a mile) and is thought to be over 700 years old.
In the end, fairies and witches have nothing to do with these formations. It is simply a fungus at work. These rings are proof of the growing organism hidden underneath the earth.
That doesn’t mean that fairy rings aren’t magical — there is a certain amount of magic in every aspect of nature; it just means you’re not likely to get kidnapped by the fae if you step in one.
Sources:
- Process based modelling of plants–fungus interactions explains fairy ring types and dynamics by Nicole Salvatori, Mauro Moreno, Maurizio Zotti, Annalisa Iuorio, Fabrizio Cartenì, Giuliano Bonanomi, Stefano Mazzoleni and Francesco Giannino
- Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms by Greg A. Marley
- Fairy rings, associated fungi, and assessment of their distribution across environmental variables using GIS by Steven L. Miller and Abbie Gongloff
- Fairy Rings published by the Utah State University — Intermountain Herbarium
