What causes mushroom circles?

Answer 1

Mushroom circles are also identified as "Fairy Ring Disease" which is caused by many mushroom or toadstool type fungi in turfgrass sites. The fungi are more apparent during warm-to-hot periods when ample rainfall exists. The fairy ring symptoms can occur several times a year under these conditions. What is happening is that the fungi are colonizing buried organic matter (tree stumps, lumber, leaves, etc.) and may persist for years.

Answer 2

I starts from a single spore. As the plant grows, the mycellium grows outward. You don't see the fibrous mycellium which is several inches under the ground, but the fruiting bodies which are referred to as mushrooms. The larger the circle, the older the plant is. The largest one I familiar with is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and with an area of almost 30 acres is estimated to be over 1500 years old.

Answer 3

It's caused by a fungus. A single spore starts the circle. It goes into the ground and starts living off organic material in the soil. It lives and grows underground, and spreads uniformly from the center.

After periods of heavy rain, the fungus can sprout mushrooms all around its edges. Since the fungus spreads out in a circle, the mushrooms form a circular pattern.

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/turf/publications/fairyrings.html

Answer 4

Multiple mushrooms are often outgrowths of one organism, which is a collection of underground filaments that absorb nutrients and use the mushroom caps for growing and releasing spores. So the tubules (mycelium) spread outward from a center point underground and oftentimes the mushrooms sprout up from its outer circumference, leading to a circular pattern of shrooms. When you see this pattern, they're all parts of one individual organism, believe it or not.

Answer 5

Small ones occurs around the outer edge of a cow pat, that provides the food for the mushroom.

I occasionally saw larger circles, where cattle were fed in the field, with large hay bales. The cattle stood around the bale & ate and defecated. I rarely saw a circle of circles.

Answer 6

http://www.bcstandard.com/News/2002/0911/Front_Page/021.html