Why Do Mushrooms Grow in Rings?

History

• Old folk tales tell of fairies dancing in circles in clearings of the forest. What are left behind are rings of mushrooms marking their joyful antics.

Type

• Marasmius oreades is the best known variety of mushroom that reproduces itself by sending mycelium underground from a central point, that produce fruiting bodies that appear to be joined in rings.

Method

• Airborne spores from the Marasmius oreades mushroom land in moist grass and are transported to the soil. From a central point, mycelium strands travel outward much like spokes on a wheel. When temperatures and humidity are just right, the mycelium has traveled far from the central point and is triggered into producing a fruiting body known as the mushroom. Mushrooms appear at the end of the spokes on the wheel creating a circle.