What is a Fairy Ring - Why do mushrooms grow in a circle?

welcome to mushroom Wonderland have you ever been walking through a beautiful Forest like this and came across a circle of wild mushrooms growing in the woods this is commonly known as a fairy ring but what causes a fairy ring is it actually fairies or maybe science has a better explanation we're going to find out all about that here on this episode so make sure to hit subscribe if you're new and follow me into mushroom Wonderland oh welcome to mushroom Wonderland the idea of fairies and elves excites a part of us that wants to believe in the magic of enchanted forests in magical places and the mushroom seems to be a perfect landmark of that Realm when they form a perfect circle in the forest it is what we affectionately call a fairy ring it truly has a way of captivating the imagination let's first understand what a fairy ring is it is a circular formation of fungi fruiting bodies which occur naturally usually in Grassy Meadows fields and also in Woodlands the fairy ring is comprised of individual fruiting bodies growing in a way that is undeniably in a circle or sometimes a half circle or an oblong shape approximately 100 species of fungi are known to form fairy rings some of the most striking are Amanita muscaria the chlorophyllum malibidities and very commonly marasmias or 80s also known as the fairy ring mushroom of all the species that form fairy rings some are poisonous and others are decent Edibles you have to identify each different species to determine edibility fairy rings are often depicted as hazardous or dangerous places in the Enchanted realm and are often linked with Sinister Forest creatures witches or the devil adversely some stories say that they can be linked with good fortune and prosperity different countries across Old World Europe have many tales about fairy rings in his history of the Goths in 1628 Swedish writer Alice Magnus makes this connection saying that fairy rings are burned into the ground by the dancing of elves [Music] adaptations of the same story have been told in English and Celtic folklore about fairy rings that were caused by fairies dancing in a circle in the middle of the night European superstitions routinely warn against entering a fairy ring it was said that if you happened upon fairies dancing in the forest at night that you would be lured into their dance and forced to dance until you died or at least until exhaustion or collapse it was said that if you did escape the dance of the fairy ring the time will have passed so that all of your loved ones will have long since perished while you remain the same age it was also said that a close friend would be the only one who might possibly pull you out of the dance that is as long as they didn't get lured into it themselves a famous British folklorist called Thomas kitely believed them the fault of elves and he warned that while entering a fairy ring might allow the person to see elves who would also likely put the person under a spell Dutch Superstition took an even darker turn and claimed that the Toadstool circles showed where the devil set his milk churn in France they are known as witches circles and that they're guarded by giant bug-eyed toads that curse those who violated the circles [Music] in German folklore they were known as witch's Rings it was believed that they were the place where witches would dance on wallpurgis night an ancient witch's celebration that takes place exactly six months from Halloween [Music] in tyrol Austria dragons were said to be responsible for fairy rings who was said that they burned them into the forest floor with their fiery Tales once a dragon had created the circle nothing but poisonous toadstools would grow there for seven years this is at least partly false because some of these mushrooms are quite good edibles some cultures believe that they are portals into another world While others would say that the mushrooms are simply used as dinner tables for fairies one of the biggest fairy rings ever found that still exists today is in northeastern France from a mushroom commonly known as the trooping funnel it's about 980 feet in diameter and over 700 years old in Southern England colossibi gambosa has formed huge fairy rings that also appear to be several hundred years old science can now help explain the occurrence of fairy rings and the study of fungi known as mycology has some more simple explanations the fairy ring is caused by a fungus that grows underground at certain times of the year when conditions are just right the fungus will produce fruiting bodies in an attempt to spread its spores the visible mushrooms are nothing more than uniquely oriented clusters of the strands of hyphae which have a fertile surface and produce the spores of the fungus the actual body of the fungus itself exists underground hidden from Human sight and growing outward from a central point the energy and new growth of the mycelium is focused on the outer edge of the Subterranean fungal Mass this is where it will produce fruiting bodies which After Time start to resemble a circle as nutrients are depleted the mycelium grows outward in a circular fashion lacking adequate nutrients the center portion dies and a living ring is formed making the perimeter of the mycelial growth darker green and the inside of the circle can look dead a ring can grow for several years depending on the availability of soil nutrients and weather conditions this process can go on for years and have fertilized by rabbits or other grassland animals giving nitrogen to the soil smaller rings can grow within the larger ones and create geometric shapes and Fields it is likely main things that draws people's attention to the unique life form of mushrooms is their attachment to the magical realm and stories like these have captivated our minds for eons so thanks for joining this episode of mushroom Wonderland much love to you all foreign [Music]

Channel: Mushroom Wonderland

Views: 13,029

Keywords: fairy ring, what is a fairy ring, mushrooms, mushroom folklore, toadstools, mycology, fungi, fungi folklore, mushroom documentary, wild mushrooms, folk tales, magical mushrooms, asmr, foraging, mushroom identification, mushroom recipies, morels, chantrelles, Amanita muscaria, magic mushrooms, psilocybin, psilocybe, shrooms, magic, real magic, elves and mushrooms

Id: W4BEDm55odA

Length: 6min 45sec (405 seconds)

Published: Tue May 16 2023