Marasmius oreades (Fairy Ring Fungi)

Marasmius oreades, commonly known as fairy ring fungi, are one of the species of mushroom that form the natural phenomena known as a fairy ring. A fairy ring begins when the mycelium of a mushroom falls in a spot that supports and encourages growth, and it sends out a subterranean network of hyphae that grow outwards from the spore in every direction. This forms an underground mat of hyphae in a circular shape, which mushrooms are able to grow up from and create a circular pattern above ground. Gradually the subterranean mycelium dies out, but the ring continues to grow outwards and the diameter of the ring continues to grow and eventually, the underground segments of the fungi die out and a field of fairy ring fungi are left, with no discernable ring pattern. Marasmius oreades are known to create very large and irregular rings that can at times achieve a width of over three hundred and fifty meters.

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Fairy ring. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/science/fairy-ring.

Posted on 19 de outubro de 2021, 02:51 AM by zoe_y