Fairy Ring o Fungus

JTHphoto · Aug 30, 2005

Somebody told me this phenomenon was called a "fairy ring" - when mushrooms/toadstools sprout up in a circle or ring. Whatever, i just thought it was cool. :mrgreen:

Again, these are older shots from my less-than-impressive scanner taken with my canon elan. just wanted to contribute to the several nice mushroom shots I have seen on this forum...

1) Fairy Ring

2) A Little Closer (still not seeing any fairies...)

Big Mike · Aug 30, 2005

They sure look nice out in the woods...they look like crap when they spring up in my front lawn. It's almost impossible to get rid of these things.

EmergentFungus · Aug 30, 2005

I do like fungus!

gravespinner · Aug 30, 2005

I believe that these grow up where there has been a tree removed and there is still the underlying root system rotting. That does not spoil the fairy story, because fairies use them to sit on when they have story time.

Big Mike · Aug 30, 2005

Actually, I think they cam grow just about anywhere, not just where a tree used to be. Here in Edmonton, the city set up a set patch and planted (or infected) several spots with these kinds of fungus. I think they were used to test different methods to treat them. They actually grow fairly deep and to completely remove them is quite a hassle.

They feed off of organic matter, so an old rotted tree would be a good spot for them to spring up though.

JTHphoto · Aug 30, 2005

interesting, i am enthralled with the wealth of knowledge i have access to on TPF...

These are rare in Arizona, have to get just the right amount of rain up in the highest elevations. I have seen a few before, but only one at a time. In the lower deserts, we only get the real drab, boring fungus. I can't help getting excited over weird, colorful fungus with odd little white nuggets on top... :mrgreen:

It could be because of a fallen tree, there are a lot of them in this area, i actually have this pic with a tree fallen across the creek in the background... good call gravespinner... thanks for the comments...

tempra · Aug 30, 2005

Can you eat em? Wild mushrooms have so much flavour, but some have a little too much

great set.

John E. · Aug 30, 2005

Those fungi have such great color, nice shots. I am not an expert but I have never seen that variety at the local market

might be fun to try, who knows what affect they will have

LWW · Aug 30, 2005

Good eye.

LWW

JTHphoto · Aug 30, 2005

thanks for the comments everyone.

tempra & John E. - I wouldn't know about eating them, not that brave. With my luck they would be either deadly poisonous or psychadelic, :drunk:

:shock:

uke: -- not into that.

I saw a squirrel dragging one of these across a road one day, it made me laugh thinking of a squirrel out in the forest eating shrooms getting all crazy and freaking out...

bronzeo · Aug 30, 2005

Great shot and great find... It is called a Fairy ring, and it's caused by a spore (similar to a seed) planting itself in the center of the ring usually coming from an airborne spew of its parenting fungi. The spore creates runs called something like sylibyn(sp), which are stringlike feeders to the circle of fungi. Many all of this type of fungi are produced in this fashion. Not all appear in a perfect circle, but it is a very common occurrence.

Wally · Aug 30, 2005

John E. said:
Those fungi have such great color, nice shots. I am not an expert but I have never seen that variety at the local market might be fun to try, who knows what affect they will have

Trivia for ya, there are 2 kinds of mushrooms that grow on cow piles. One is deadly poison, the other is a powerful hallucinogenic. The trick is knowing which is which:lmao: