# faries' rings

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faries-rings/79900>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 5, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faries-rings/79900 "2001-09-05T18:18:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faries-rings/79900/1 "2001-09-05T18:18:27Z")

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in Texas when it rains a lot, we get mushrooms growing out of the yard. sometimes they grow in circles 3 to 6 feet across. we call them “faries’ rings”. what does that?

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**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faries-rings/79900/2 "2001-09-05T18:48:27Z")

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All the info you could desire about fairy rings resides at:  
[http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/expert/Fairy\_Rings.html](http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/expert/Fairy_Rings.html)

Have fun!

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**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faries-rings/79900/3 "2001-09-05T18:55:03Z")

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The mushroom you see is just the “bloom”. The actual organism is the mycelium growing through the ground. When the conditions are right, mushrooms sprout up around the perimeter. Not all varieties of mushrooms spread this way, but many do.

If you need a hobby, you can measure the rate at which the circle expands every year as the mycelium grows and estimate the age of the organism.

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**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faries-rings/79900/4 "2001-09-05T20:46:55Z")

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Yeah, just be careful not to stray into the ring while you’re measuring…