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Anno
Experimenter



Registered: 06/17/99
Posts: 24,166
Loc: my room
Last seen: 20 days, 19 hours
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Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies
#5952130 - 08/10/06 09:56 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=3b0215f84e6bf8a1
Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies
By Dr. William Johnson The Daily News Published August 9, 2006
Mushrooms have been suddenly appearing in lawns, and they have caught the attention of concerned homeowners. Some mushrooms enlarge to dinner plate-size behemoths.
They’re known as fairy rings. In a recent column, I discussed mushrooms that randomly occur in lawns; however, fairy ring mushrooms occur in a distinctively circular pattern. The question is “Are they the result of magic or fairies?”
During the Middle Ages, the period when blood-letting was common practice and flies were thought to arise from rotting meat, people had various ideas about where circles of mushrooms or other large fungal structures came from.
Some people thought the devil churned butter in the middle of the ring, while other folks thought fairies danced in the center. Despite such stories, some considered it lucky to have fairy rings in a field near their house. You might, however, get a strong counter-argument from today’s homeowners and turf managers who have fairy rings in their turf.
Mystery and mythology aside, fairy rings are caused by fungi. More precisely, we now know that fairy rings aren’t made by fairies or the devil. They are the fruiting structures of underground fungi. Several species of mushrooms or puffballs can form into fairy rings. Mushrooms or puffballs are the reproductive part that forms from fungal threads that live and grow in the soil or thatch (the layer of dead and living plant parts that develops between the grass and the soil surface).
Fairy rings are typically seen from August through October, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule. In some years they’re more common than others because they’re sensitive to environmental conditions. For example, after a heavy rainfall, umbrellas of mushrooms might begin to appear, but if the summer is dry, the fungal fruiting bodies may not bloom.
An obvious question is why do they grow in circles? The whole phenomenon begins with one small piece of fungal thread or a spore. From that tiny particle, a mass of threads radiates in all directions like tendrils reaching toward food. The fungus will keep growing, hidden from sight, until it runs out of a food source or the environment becomes unfavorable.
Fairy ring fungi don’t directly infect lawns, but cause damage by interfering with water movement to the roots of grass plants. In order for the fungus to absorb nutrients, certain materials in the soil must be dissolved by the fungus into a useable form. The grass is essentially fertilized by the byproducts of this process. The most active part of the fungus is at the outer edge of the ring, so that’s where the fruiting bodies form and thus forming a circular pattern.
So, what can you do if you want to get rid of a fairy ring? Fairy rings, as with other nuisance mushrooms or puffballs, are difficult to control since there are no effective and simple chemical procedures available to homeowners. Most fairy rings are only present for one to four or five years and eventually outgrow themselves.
If mushrooms on the lawn make you happy, or you’re at least agreeable to letting Mother Nature take her course, then sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Watching mushrooms grow tends to be faster than watching grass grow.
Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/.
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: Anno]
#5952868 - 08/11/06 01:31 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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i love seeing fairy rings..they show up all over the place where i live. from what i can tell they always seem to be chlorophyllum molybdites (i think that's spell properly)
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
Edited by SuperD (08/11/06 09:14 AM)
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Anno
Experimenter



Registered: 06/17/99
Posts: 24,166
Loc: my room
Last seen: 20 days, 19 hours
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: SuperD]
#5952966 - 08/11/06 02:58 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Jim


Registered: 04/07/04
Posts: 20,922
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: Anno]
#5953344 - 08/11/06 09:25 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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I thought that was common knowledge, especially among all of us...
I hope it is...
-------------------- Use the Fucking Reply To Feature You Lazy Pieces of Shit! afoaf said: Jim, if you were in my city, I would let you fuck my wife.
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TheWay
just some dude


Registered: 10/27/05
Posts: 163
Loc: free
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: Anno]
#5953359 - 08/11/06 09:39 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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They're not made by fairies? OMG, no wonder that fairy repellent I've been paying hundreds of dollars a year for never worked. My pest control guy has some explaining to do.
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Papaver
Madmin Emeritus?

Registered: 06/01/02
Posts: 26,880
Loc: Radio Free Tibet!
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: Anno]
#5953470 - 08/11/06 10:51 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Everyone knows that fairy rings are really UFO landing sites. The government doesn't want us to know this, so they plant these mushroom stories in the media as part of their disinformation campaign.
However, ever notice how the fruiting bodies of some mushrooms resemble flying saucers? A coincidence? I think not...
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Boom
just a tester

Registered: 06/16/04
Posts: 11,252
Loc: Cypress Creek
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: Papaver]
#5953483 - 08/11/06 10:57 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Better edit that before they come find you
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StroFun
Repeater

Registered: 07/11/06
Posts: 977
Loc: Mycotopia.net
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Re: Ring of mushrooms not made by fairies [Re: Papaver]
#5953502 - 08/11/06 11:07 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Papaver said: Everyone knows that fairy rings are really UFO landing sites. The government doesn't want us to know this, so they plant these mushroom stories in the media as part of their disinformation campaign.
However, ever notice how the fruiting bodies of some mushrooms resemble flying saucers? A coincidence? I think not...
Would that make penis envy like a landing site for peni (spl?)? Hmm
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