fairy ring

The idea of a ring where fairies danced was a traditional explanation for the fungal phenomenon before it was understood.

fairy ring (plural fairy rings)

1. (folklore) A place where fairies congregate in a ring, particularly in order to dance.

   Synonyms: elf circle, fairy circle, pixie ring

   • 1914, "Rhys at the Fairy Dance" in Maud Keary, Enchanted Tulips and Other Verses for Children, Macmillan and Company, page 102,

     Though many a year has passed away, / None have seen Rhys since that day! / Does he dance and does he sing / For ever in a Fairy Ring?

   • 1972, North Carolina Folklore Society, North Carolina Folklore Journal, Volumes 20-21: 1972-1973, page 51:

     Welsh folklore also reveals few references to fairy rings but there is a fine example found in the legend "Rhys at the Fairy Dance" (collected in 1827) in which Rhys is lost but found again when several people venture to a nearby fairy ring.

2. (mycology, botany) A ring of fungi marking the periphery of the perennial underground growth of the mycelium.

   Synonyms: elf circle, fairy circle, pixie ring

   • 1821, Edward Polehampton, chapter VIII, in The Gallery of Nature and Art: Or, A Tour Through Creation and Science, volume 5, page 316:

     This curious phenomenon has been differently accounted for. The following is Mr. Nicholson's description and explanation: "the appearance in the grass, says he, commonly called Fairy Rings, is well known. It consists either of a ring of grass of more luxuriant vegetation than the rest, or a kind of circular path in which the vegetation is more defective than elsewhere. It appears to be pretty well ascertained that the latter state precedes the former. […]

   • 1884, The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Home Farmer, Volume 7, 3rd Series, July—December, 1883, page 213:

     The best known Fungus occupant of fairy rings is the Fairy Ring Agaric or Champignon, Marasmius oreades, termed in the older botanical textbooks Agaricus oreades.

   • 2012, Juliana Regina Delion, Heart Attack!: Shadows on the Eve of Tomorrow, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 18:

     So writing it down and reading it later, I realized somehow my subconscious was giving me a warning of things to come. In the dream I woke up at the height of the full moon in my garden. I didn't realize that in my drunken stupor I had fallen asleep amidst a fairy ring. A fairy ring is a bunch of mushrooms growing in a circle. I often see them growing on lawns. Legend has it that if one gets caught in this circle on a full moon, the fairies will take him or her captive and do as they please.

• fairy ring agaric
• fairy ring champignon (Marasmius oreades)
• fairy ring fungus
• fairy ring mushroom

• fairy circle
• magic circle

• fairy ring on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• rarifying