why do mushrooms grow in perfect circles?

Answer 1

I assume you are talking about fairy rings, where mushrooms form a perfect circle on lawns and other area.

They grow in that shape because the mushroom is just the fruiting body of a huge organisms that is mostly underground. In simple terms the mushroom is just the "flower" of a plant that exists mostly as a massive underground root system.

The part of the organism that is underground is circular because it grew from a single spore, and then spread out from their. Just as the canopy of tree is circular so the hyphal mass of a fungus is circular.

When conditions are right the fungus produces mushrooms on the youngest growth, and because it is round the youngest growth exists at the periphery of the circle.

The result is fairy rings, circles of mushrooms.

Answer 2

Hey,
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If you always liked mushrooms, mushroom growing is a great way to assure your family of a regular supply of this excellent food. Many people think that growing mushrooms takes some special kind of skill, or at least extremely specialized growing conditions. But this is absolutely not true. In reality, mushrooms are as easy to grow as anything else, and can be a good deal easier to grow than many kinds of food.

Answer 3

This is a good question and merits a detailed answer. It runs as follows -:

So-called fairy rings are found only in a few species of mushrooms.
Agaricus bisporus & Agaricus campestris are common amongst them. (Psalliota is the alternate generic name).

Imagine a single spore (equivalent to a seed of higher plant) of this Agaricus germinating at the center of an undisturbed, untrammeled lawn. Now, the emerging thallus of that mushroom (It is also called Mycelium) is highly branched and spreads evenly in all directions in almost a circular manner below the soil surface (The words'undisturbed', 'untrammeled' acquire importance here.).

When the climatic conditions are perfect (High humidity, high temperature); Sexual reproduction occurs beneath the soil surface and the fruiting bodies(The Basidiocarps for a botanist and mushrooms for common man) only emerge above the soil surface. They spread the spores (The result of the sexual reproduction) in the atmosphere.

Since the branches or the hyphae have spread in all direction equidistant from the point of origin (In this case the original germinating spore); the mushrooms appear in a form of a broken or interrupted circle (dotted or non-continuous circle if you like).
This is called ‘Fairy Ring’. Each spot where the mushroom emerges is thought to be the mark where the dainty fairy put her equally dainty steps .

The rings are factual but the story is purely mythical.


When the reproductive phase is over, the hyphae (The branches of the original Mycelium.) continue to grow
further radially and only below the soil surface. So that during the next season the ring will be wider and it will continue to be wider with each passing year and ultimately disappear in the wood around the lawn where one cannot trace it.

With so much of ecological disturbance and tampering with nature around , a perfect ‘Fairy Ring’ is hard to come by these days.

Answer 4

Think of it this way, assuming that one mushroom seed (mycellium) grows into a mushroom, the roots take all the goodness out of the ground, the now grown mushroom drops it`s seeds, the seeds that fall will only grow in fresh soil, therefore only the seeds on the outside will grow, and so on
So you see new growth always moves outwards.

Answer 5

Mushroom are actually the "fruiting bodies" (think of them as "flowers") for fungus that actually lives in the soil. These various types of fungus are symbiotic with many species of trees (such as oaks) and help the tree absorb nutrients. When the tree is cut down or dies, the fungus will also die if it doesn't send out seeds (technically called "spores"). Mushrooms appear in circles (not always perfect) because the fungus grows outwards from the main root of the tree.

Answer 6

Mushrooms don't always grow in "perfect" circles. In fact, such a thing is impossible. Perfect circles are completely smooth, and therefore cannot exist, as atoms are "lumpy".

Answer 7

the mushroom gets ripe and the spores exlpode in a circle and the new plants grow into a circle.if and only if the wind is not blowing

Answer 8

do you mean the shape of the mushroom because some don't. Portabellos have ragged and uneven edges. OR do you mean those mushroom "fairy" rings where a group of mushrooms grow in a circle? I recall something about one mushroom dispursing it's spores out in a ring around it....maybe some experts can elaborate here

Answer 9

They don't, but some do grow in circles, often called fairy rings. Why is a subject of discussion, but may be no more than annual growth moving out from the origin in an orderly fashion.

Answer 10

Hi there,
you can find a free download of Spore here: http://bit.ly/1oheIeK

Spore is a free life simulator PC trial in which you completely build your playfield, your characters, and any item of your fictional world. You can start making unicellular living beings, and then control their development as societies until you have your own cosmos.
It's a very nice game.