The Fairy Ring

By Al Lowe
Contributor

Have you ever seen a ring of smallish mushrooms on your lawn, or in a pasture field? Well, if you have, and you are aware of the folklore associated with these mushrooms, then you will know that this is the Fairy Ring.
The most common of the stories about the Fairy Ring was that this was where the fairies danced. They danced at night, but only on certain nights. They had to be moonlit, but misty. When the fairies tripped the light fantastic, they always moved in circles - hence the ring.
But this was not the only explanation, by any means. Gnomes and goblins buried their treasure inside the rings. And once in a while a dragon, when he was resting from scaring the common folk silly, would stop on the grass. The dragon's breath, which everyone knows was like fire, scorched the earth all around where it rested. From that came a ring of burned grass where the mushrooms could grow.
And there were lots of other theories, too. The 'ring' was formed when the thunderbolt hit the earth. Or maybe it was where a whirlwind had gone by. Or possibly where haystacks (the really old ones, which were circular) had stood. Even the devil himself got into the act - it was where he churned butter. It was left to an English botanist to find the real cause, in 1976.
What happens is this. The spores of a certain type of mushroom start to grow in a clear, grassy area (a lawn is an excellent place). The part of the mushroom which you never see is the "mycelium". This is always underground, like the root of most plants. Now this mycelium is really the growing part of the mushroom plant, and it releases nitrogen, which green plants need to grow well. The fertilizer which you buy for your garden or lawn always contains nitrogen.
So where the little mushrooms grow, the plants grow greener and taller. As time goes by, the mycelium spreads out in all directions, and so forms a ring. After the grass has used up the nitrogen, it goes back to what it was like before any mushrooms were around.
Year after year, the mushrooms grow a bit further away from the centre, and the ring gets bigger. But not by a whole lot each year - maybe 3 inches or even up to a foot. Rings, or parts of rings have been found which were begun a long, long time ago. Some rings are 2 or 3 hundred feet, and a few even up to 8 hundred feet in diameter. And some were found in Colorado which started over 500 years ago. The fairies have been busy for a very long time!
There are many different species of mushrooms which grow in a ring. Most of the ones which we have in Canada are quite simple. The stem is usually slim, and the top part (the Cap) is fairly small in diameter, maybe 2 inches. They are usually white or pale tan in colour. If they grow in taller grass the stems grow taller too.
These fairy ring mushrooms are quite good to eat. They have a very pleasant taste, and are quite nice smelling. So if you are fond of mushrooms, find a Fairy Ring. You can get quite a lot in a small space.
So when you find a Fairy Ring in your lawn, or pasture, or the golf course, be respectful. The Little People have been at it for hundreds of years.