fairy ring

American  

noun

1. any of numerous mushrooms of meadows and open woods, especially the well-known Marasmius oreades, that spread in rings originating from mycelial growth: formerly supposed to mark the paths laid by dancing fairies.

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fairy ring British  

noun

1. a ring of dark luxuriant vegetation in grassy ground corresponding to the edge of an underground fungal mycelium: popularly associated with the dancing of fairies: seasonally marked by a ring of mushrooms

2. short for fairy ring mushroom, Marasmius oreades , a dainty buff-coloured edible basidiomycetous fungus, characteristically forming rings in grassland

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Etymology

Origin of fairy ring

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

Anyone who has ventured into a marsh is likely to have come across a fairy ring: a strange patch of ground where the plant life is markedly different, often for no apparent reason.

From National Geographic • Feb. 16, 2024

But this very neglect has allowed nature to take over with her delicate jewels and living draperies, and the property is even encircled by a ring of ancient-looking moss-covered stones like a fairy ring.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2024

Her property includes a fairy ring, a group of redwoods growing in a tight circle around the stump of a logged tree.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2019

The guacamole is presented as a kind of fairy ring, trimmed with colorful pickled vegetables and ash.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2019

I saw the fairy ring and remembered the wish I had made when I knelt in the center of that snow-white circle.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls