Fairy ring 449924 226049540 2008-07-16T16:32:51Z 91.84.45.190 edit out abuse :''For the article dedicated to the Southwest African phenomenon of fairy circles, see [[fairy circle (Africa)]].'' A '''fairy ring''', also known as '''fairy circle''', '''elf circle''' or '''pixie ring''', is a naturally occurring ring or arc of [[mushroom]]s. The rings may grow over ten meters in diameter and become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in [[forest]]ed areas, but also appear in [[grassland]]s or rangelands. Fairy rings are not only detectable by [[sporocarp]]s in rings or arcs, but also by a [[necrotic zone]] (death grass) or a ring of dark green grass. If these manifestations are visible a fairy fungus [[mycelium]] is likely present in the ring or arc underneath. Fairy rings also occupy a prominent place in European folklore as the location of gateways into elfin kingdoms, or places where elves gather and dance. == Genesis == There are two theories regarding the process involved in creating fairy rings. One states that fairy ring is begun by a [[spore]] from the sporocarpus. The underground presence of the fungus can also cause withering or varying colour or growth of the grass above. Many fairy rings are believed to be [[coenocytic]] {{Fact|date=July 2007}}, meaning that an entire ring is just one large cell with multiple nuclei. The second theory, which is presented in the investigations of [[Japanese people|Japanese]] scientists on the ''[[Tricholoma matsutake]]'' species, shows that fairy rings could be established by connecting neighbouring oval [[Genet (biology)|genet]]s of these mushrooms. If they make an arc or a ring, they continuously grow about the center of this object. == Necrotic or rapid growth zones == [[Image:FairyRingSchoolField.jpg|thumb|right|Two fairy rings (or pixie circles) marked by uneven grass growth (small one in foreground, much bigger one in background).]] One of the three manifestations is a necrotic zone, or area in which grass or other plant life has withered or died. These are caused by the mycelia, which during a very dry year coat the roots of grasses and other herbs in [[meadow]]s. After some time they are removed by [[biotic factor]]s from the ground, at which stage we can see a zone on the surface [[soil]]. Patterns other than the basic ring or arc are also possible: circles, doubled arcs, sickle-shaped arcs, and other complicated formations are also formed by this process. Fungi can deplete the soil of readily available nutrients like nitrogen, causing plant growing within the circle to be stressed which leads to plant discoloration. Some fungi also produce chemicals that act like hormones called [[gibberellin]]s, which affects plant growth, causing rapid luxuriant growth. == Types == There are two generally recognised types of fairy ring fungus. Those found in the woods are called ''tethered'', because they are formed by [[mycorrhizal]] fungi living in [[commensalism]] with trees. Meadow fairy rings are called ''free'', because they are not connected with other organisms. These mushrooms are [[saprotrophic]]. The effects on the grass depend on the type of fungus that is growing; when ''[[Calvatia cyathiformis]]'' is growing in the area grass will grow more abundantly; however, ''[[Clitocybe gigantea]]'' will cause the grass to wither.<ref>Böttcher, Helmuth M. ''Miracle Drugs'' William Henemann Ltd. London 1963 p. 227</ref> ==Species involved== [[Image:Clitocybe nebularis group.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Clitocybe nebularis]]'' in part of ring]] It is said that there are about 40 to 60 mushroom species which can grow in the fairy ring pattern. The best known is the edible Scotch bonnet (''[[Marasmius oreades]]''), which is commonly known as the fairy ring champignon. One of the largest rings ever found is in France. Formed by ''[[Clitocybe geotropa]]'', it is thought to be about 800&nbsp;m in diameter and over 700 years old. [http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/FunFacts/Ringsfct.htm] On the [[South Downs]] in southern England, ''[[Calocybe gambosa]]'' has formed huge fairy rings which appear to be several hundred years old.<ref name = "Ramsbottom53">{{cite book | author = Ramsbottom J | year = 1953 | title = Mushrooms & Toadstools |pages=p. 125 | publisher = Collins | id = ISBN 1870630092}}</ref> [[Media:<math>Example.ogg</math> ]]===List of species=== *''[[Amanita muscaria]]''<ref name="benjamin305">Benjamin, ''Mushrooms: poisons and panaceas'', p. 305</ref> *''[[Calocybe gambosa]]''<ref name = "Carluccio03">{{cite book | author = [[Antonio Carluccio|Carluccio A]] | year = 2003 | title = The Complete Mushroom Book |pages=p. 75| publisher = Quadrille | id = ISBN 1-84400-040-0}}</ref> *''[[Clitocybe dealbata]]''<ref name=Haas132>{{cite book | author = Haas H | year = 1969 | title = The Young Specialist looks at Fungi |pages=p. 132| publisher = Burke | id = ISBN 0-222-79409-7}}</ref> *''[[Clitocybe geotropa]]''<ref>Haas, p. 130</ref> *''[[Clitocybe nebularis]]'' *''[[Clitocybe rivulosa]]''<ref name=Haas132/> *''[[Chlorophyllum molybdites]]'' *''[[Chlorophyllum rhacodes]]'' *''[[Entoloma sinuatum]]''<ref name=Zeitl76>{{cite book|author=Zeitlmayr L|year=1976|title=Wild Mushrooms:An Illustrated Handbook|publisher=Garden City Press, Hertfordshire|isbn= 0-584-10324-7|pages=p. 80}}</ref> *''[[Leucopaxillus giganteus]]''<ref>Nilsson S, Persson O, p. 38</ref> *''[[Marasmius oreades]]'' *''[[Sarcodon imbricatus]]''<ref name=Haas69>{{cite book | last = Haas |first=Hans | year = 1969 | title = The Young Specialist looks at Fungi |pages=p. 170| publisher = Burke | isbn= 0-222-79409-7}}</ref> *''[[Tricholoma pardinum]]''<ref name=Lamaison05>{{cite book |title=The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms |last=Lamaison |first=Jean-Louis |coauthors=Polese, Jean-Marie |year=2005 |publisher=Könemann |isbn=3-8331-1239-5|pages=p. 89}}</ref> ==Cultural references== ===Oral tradition and folklore=== [[Image:Plucked from the Fairy Circle.png|thumb|right|"Plucked from the Fairy Circle"<br>A man saves his friend from the grip of a fairy ring]] A great deal of folklore surrounds fairy rings.<ref name="Morgan 30">Morgan 30.</ref> Their names in European languages often allude to supernatural origins; they are known as ''ronds de sorciers'' ("sorcerers' rings") in France, and ''hexenringe'' ("witches' rings") in German.<ref name="Morgan 13">Morgan 13.</ref> In German tradition, fairy rings were thought to mark the site of witches' dancing on [[Walpurgis Night]],<ref name="Morgan 30"/> and Dutch superstition claimed that the circles show where the [[Devil]] set his milk churn. In the [[Tyrol]], folklore attributed fairy rings to the fiery tales of flying dragons; once a dragon had created such a circle, nothing but toadstools could grow there for seven years. European superstitions routinely warned against entering a fairy ring. French tradition reported that fairy rings were guarded by giant bug-eyed toads that cursed those who violated the circles. In other parts of Europe, entering a fairy ring resulted in the loss of an eye.<ref name="Morgan 13"/> Outside of Europe, fairy rings are associated with diminutive spirits in the [[Philippines]].<ref>Morgan 12.</ref> Scandinavian and Celtic traditions claimed that fairy rings are the result of [[elf|elves]] or [[fairy|fairies]] dancing. Such ideas dated to at least the mediæval period; The [[Middle English]] term ''elferingewort'' ("elf-ring"), meaning "a ring of daisies caused by elves' dancing" dates to the 12th century.<ref>Hall 75.</ref> In his ''History of the Goths'' (1628), [[Olaus Magnus]] makes this connection, saying that fairy rings are burned into the ground by the dancing of elves.<ref name="Morgan 30"/> British folklorist [[Thomas Keightley]] noted that in Scandinavia in the early 20th century, beliefs persisted that fairy cirlces (''elfdans'') arose from the dancing of elves. Keightley warned that while entering an ''elfdans'' might allow the interloper to see the elves—although this was not guaranteed—it would also put the intruder in thrall to their illusions.<ref>Keightley 81.</ref><ref>The term for ''fairy ring'' in modern Norweigian is ''alvedans''.</ref> The [[Celtic mythology|Celtic folklore]] of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales contain a wealth of fairy lore, including the idea from which fairy rings take their name: the phenomena result from the dancing of fairies.<ref>Ripley and Dana 402.</ref> In 19th century Wales, where the rings are known as ''cylch y Tylwyth Teg'', fairies were almost invariably described as dancing in a group when encountered,<ref name="Sikes 70">Sikes 70.</ref> and in Scotland and Wales in the late 20th century, stories about fairy rings were still common;<ref>Gwyndaf 161.</ref><ref name="Bennett 110">Bennett 110.</ref> some Welsh even claimed to have joined a fairy dance.<ref name="Gwyndaf 163">Gwyndaf 163.</ref> Victorian folklorists regarded fairies and witches as related, based in part on the idea that both were believed to dance in circles.<ref>Silver 175.</ref> These revels are particularly associated with moonlit nights, the rings only becoming visible to mortals the following morning.<ref>Keightley 297.</ref><ref>McPherson 96.</ref> Local variants add other details. An early 20th century Irish tradition says that fairies enjoy dancing around the [[hawthorn tree]] so that fairy rings often centre on one.<ref>Wilde 39.</ref> One resident of [[Balquhidder]], Scotland, said that the fairies sit on the mushrooms and use them as dinnertables,<ref name="Bennett 110"/> and a Welsh woman claimed that fairies used the mushrooms as parasols and umbrellas.<ref name="Gwyndaf 163"/> [[Olaus Magnus]] in "[[De Gentibus Septentrionalibus]]" wrote that the brightness of the fairy ring comes not from the dancing of the fairies, who harm it with their feet, but from [[Puck]], who refreshes the grass.<ref>Quoted in Hazlitt 230.</ref> A Devon legend says that a black hen and chickens sometimes appear at dusk in a large fairy ring on the edge of [[Dartmoor]].<ref>Coxhead, J. R. W., ''The Devil in Devon'', p. 39-40. Quoted in Briggs 328.</ref> A Welsh and Manx variant current in the 1960s removes dancing from the picture and claims that fairy rings spring up over an underground fairy village.<ref name="R&R 157">Radford and Radford 157.</ref> These associations have become linked to specific sites. For example, "The Pixies' Church" was a rock formation in Dartmoor surrounded by a fairy ring,<ref>Bray 149.</ref> and a stone circle tops [[Cader Idris]] in northern Wales, believed to be a popular spot for fairy dances.<ref>Daniels and Stevens 1300.</ref> Celtic folk beliefs generally paint fairy rings as dangerous places, best avoided.<ref name="R&R 157"/><ref name="Cielo 73">Cielo 73.</ref> Sikes traces these stories of people trespassing into forbidden territory and being punished for it to the tale of [[Psyche and Eros]]. In it, Psyche is forbidden to view her lover, and when she does so, her palace disappears and she is left alone.<ref>Sikes 85-6.</ref> Superstition calls fairy circles sacred and warns against violating them lest the interloper (such as a farmer with a plough) anger the fairies and be [[curse]]d.<ref name="Gwyndaf 163"/><ref>Cheviot 398.</ref><ref>Bray 150.</ref> In an Irish legend recorded by Wilde, a farmer builds a barn on a fairy ring despite the protests of his neighbours. He is struck senseless one night, and a local "fairy doctor" breaks the curse. The farmer says that he dreamed that he must destroy the barn.<ref>Wilde 234.</ref> Even collecting dew from the grass or flowers of a fairy ring can bring bad luck. Destroying a fairy ring is unlucky and fruitless; superstition says it will just grow back.<ref name="R&R 157"/> A traditional Scottish rhyme sums up the danger of such places: :He wha tills the fairies' green :Nae luck again shall hae : :And he wha spills the fairies' ring :Betide him want and wae. :For weirdless days and weary nights :Are his till his deein' day. :But he wha gaes by the fairy ring, :Nae dule nor pine shall see, :And he wha cleans the fairy ring :An easy death shall dee.<ref>Chambers, ''Popular Rhymes'', 324; quoted in McPherson 97.</ref> Numerous legends focus on mortals entering a fairy ring—and the consequences. One superstition is that anyone who steps into an empty fairy ring will die at a young age.<ref name="Franklin 87">Franklin 87.</ref> A 20th century tradition from [[Somerset]] calls the fairy ring a "galley-trap" and says that a murderer or thief who walks in the ring will be hanged.<ref>Briggs and Tongue 51.</ref> Most often, someone who violates a fairy perimeter becomes invisible to mortals outside and may find it impossible to leave the circle. Often, the fairies force the mortal to dance to the point of exhaustion, death, or madness.<ref name="Franklin 87"/><ref>Sikes 71.</ref> In Welsh tales, fairies actively try to lure mortals into their circles to dance with them.<ref name="Sikes 70"/> A tale from the [[Cambrian Mountains]] of Wales, current in the 19th century, describes a mortal's encounter with a fairy ring: <blockquote>. . . he saw the Tylwyth Teg, in appearance like tiny soldiers, dancing in a ring. He set out for the scene of revelry, and soon drew near the ring where, in a gay company of males and females, they were footing it to the music of the harp. Never had he seen such handsome people, nor any so enchantingly cheerful. They beckoned him with laughing faces to join them as they leaned backward almost falling, whirling round and round with joined hands. Those who were dancing never swerved from the perfect circle; but some were clambering over the old cromlech, and others chasing each other with surprising swiftness and the greatest glee. Still others rode about on small white horses of the most beautiful form. . . . All this was in silence, for the shepherd could not hear the harps, though he saw them. But now he drew nearer to the circle, and finally ventured to put his foot in the magic ring. The instant he did this, his ears were charmed with strains of the most melodious music he had ever heard.<ref>Howells, W. (1831). ''Cambrian Superstitions'', p. 148; translated in Sikes 83.</ref></blockquote> Entering the ring on [[May Eve]] or [[Halloween]] night was especially dangerous.<ref name="R&R 157"/> One source near [[Afon fach Blaen y Cae]], a tributary of the [[Dwyfach]], tells of a shepherd accidentally disturbing a ring of rushes where fairies are preparing to dance; they capture him and hold him captive, and he even marries one of them.<ref>Rhys 108.</ref> In variants from Scotland recorded by [[Edwin Sidney Hartland]] in 1891, the ring is replaced by a cavern or an old mill.<ref>Hartland 165-6.</ref> Freedom from a fairy ring often requires outside intervention. A tactic from early 20th century Wales is to cast wild [[marjoram]] and [[thyme]] into the circle and befuddle the fairies;<ref>Trevelyan and Hartland 97.</ref> another asks the rescuer to touch the victim with iron.<ref name="Hartland 163">Hartland 163.</ref> Other stories require that the enchanted victim simply be plucked out by someone on the outside,<ref name="Sikes 75">Sikes 75.</ref> although even this can be difficult: A farmer in a tale from the [[Langollen]] region has to tie a rope around himself and enlist four men to pull him from the circle as he goes in to save his daughter.<ref>Rhys 239-240.</ref> Other folk methods rely on Christian faith to break the enchantment: a stick from a [[rowan]] tree (thought to be the wood from which the [[cross]] of [[Jesus Christ]] was built) can break the curse,<ref name="Gwyndaf 163"/> as can a simple phrase such as "what, in Heaven's name", as in a 19th century tale from [[Carmarthenshire]].<ref name="Sikes 72">Sikes 72.</ref> A common element to these recoveries is that the rescuer must wait a year and a day from the point where the victim entered the ring.<ref name="Hartland 163"/> Mortals who have danced with the fairies are rarely safe after being saved from their enthrallment. Often, they find that what seemed to be but a brief foray into fairyland was indeed much longer in the mortal realm, possibly weeks or years.<ref name="Franklin 87"/><ref>Hartland 166-7.</ref> The person rescued from the fairy ring may have no memory of their encounter with the sprites, as in a story from Anglesea recorded in 1891.<ref name="Hartland 164">Hartland 164.</ref> In most tales, the saved interlopers face a grim fate. For example, in a legend from [[Carmarthenshire]], recorded by Sikes, a man is rescued from a fairy ring only to crumble to dust.<ref name="Sikes 72"/> In a tale from [[Mathavarn]], [[Llanwrin Parish]], a fairy-ring survivor moulders away when he eats his first bite of food.<ref name="Sikes 75"/> Another vulnerability seems to be iron; in a tale from the [[Aberystwyth]] region, a touch from the metal causes a rescued woman to disappear.<ref name="Hartland 164"/> Celtic legends often assert that the only safe way to investigate a fairy ring is to run around it nine times. This affords the ability to hear the fairies dancing and frolicking underground.<ref name="Cielo 73"/> According to a 20th century tradition of [[Northumberland]], this must be done under a full moon, and the runner must travel in the direction of the sun; to go [[widdershins]] allows the fairies to place the runner under their sway. To circle the ring a tenth time is foolhardy and dangerous.<ref name="R&R 157"/> [[Thomas Keightley]] recorded a similar tradition from [[Northumberland]] in 1905: "The children constantly run this number [nine times], but nothing will induce them to venture a tenth run."<ref>Keightley 310.</ref> A story from early 20th century England says that a mortal can see the sprites without fear if a friend places a foot on that of the person stepping beyond the circle's perimeter.<ref>Daniels and Stevens 1406.</ref> Another superstition says that wearing a hat backwards can confuse the fairies and prevent them from pulling the wearer into their ring.<ref>Pickering 186.</ref> Although they have strong associations with doom, some legends paint fairy circles as places of fertility and fortune. Welsh folk belief is that mountain sheep that eat the grass of a fairy ring flourish, and that crops sown from such a place will prove more bountiful that those from normal land.<ref name="Morgan 30">Morgan 30.</ref> A folk belief recorded in the ''[[Athenian Oracle]]'' claims that a house built on a fairy circle will bring prosperity to its inhabitants.<ref>Hazlitt 231.</ref> Likewise, a legend from [[Pont y Wern]] says that in the 13th or 14th century, the inhabitants of the town of Corwrion watched fairies dancing in a ring around a [[glow worm]] every Sunday after church at a place called Pen y Bonc. They even joined the sprites in their revels. The legend survives in a rhyme: "With the fairies nimbly dancing round / The glow-worm on the Rising Ground."<ref>Rhys 60.</ref> A Welsh tale recorded by Rhys in 1901 tells of a man who supposedly lived on the side of the [[Berwyn]], above [[Cwm Pennant]], in the early 19th century. The man destroyed a nest of [[rook]]s in a tree surrounded by a fairy ring. In gratitude, the fairies gave him a half crown every day but stopped when he told his friends, "for he had broken the rule of the fair folks by making their liberality known".<ref>Rhys 140-1.</ref> Nevertheless, fairy boons are not without their curses, and tales often tell of the sprites exacting their revenge.<ref name="Morgan 30"/> ===Literature=== [[Image:Richard Dadd - Come unto These Yellow Sands.jpg|thumb|right|''Come unto These Yellow Sands'' (1842) by [[Richard Dadd]]. Images of nude and semi-nude fairies dancing in rings became popular during the Victorian era.]] Fairy rings have featured in the works of European authors, playwrights, and artists from as early as the 13th century. In his [[Arthurian romance]] ''[[Meraugis de Portlesguez]]'', [[Raoul de Houdenc]] describes a scene clearly derived from Celtic fairy-ring lore: The title character visits the Château des Caroles and sees a circle of women and a knight dancing around a pine in the castle courtyard. Meraugis is unable to fight the intense desire to join in, thus freeing the previous knight from the spell. Meraugis is helpless to leave the dance until, ten weeks later, another knight joins it and frees him.<ref>Paton 90–92.</ref> Fairy circles feature in works by several [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] poets and playwrights. [[William Shakespeare]] alludes to them in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', Act II, Scene I<ref>Franklin 87.</ref><ref>Hazlitt 230.</ref> ("And I serve the fairy queen, / To dew her orbs upon the green" and "To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind"),<ref>Shakespeare, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Act II, Scene I.</ref> and ''[[The Tempest]]'', Act V, Scene I:<ref>Ripley and Dana 402.</ref> :. . . you demi-puppets that :By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make, :Whereof the ewe not bites, and you whose pastime :Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice :To hear the solemn curfew . . . .<ref>Shakespeare, ''The Tempest'', Act V, Scene I.</ref> Shakespeare's contemporary [[Thomas Randolph (poet)|Thomas Randolph]] speaks of fairy rings in his ''[[Amyntas, or the Impossible Dowry]]'' (1638), and [[Michael Drayton]] describes one in ''[[Nymphidia: The Court of Fairy]]'':<ref>Hazlitt 230.</ref> :And in their courses make that round :In meadows and in marshes found, :Of them so called the Fairy Ground, ::Of which they have the keeping.<ref>Drayton.</ref> Fairy imagery became especially popular in the [[Victorian era]]. [[Thomas Hardy]] uses a fairy ring as a symbol of lost love in ''[[The Mayor of Casterbridge]]'' (1886); the character Michael Henchard passes a fairy ring and remembers that he last saw his wife Susan there when he sold her to a sailor in a drunken rage.<ref>Silver 153.</ref> Victorian poets who have referred to fairy rings in their works include [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]], [[Eliza Cook]], [[Robert Stephen Hawker]], [[Felicia Hemans]], [[Gerald Massey]], and [[Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson|Alfred, Lord Tennyson]].<ref>See Browning, "The Deserted Garden"; Cook, "'Don't You Remember?'"; Hawker, "The Fairy Vision" and "Chorus of Fairies"; Hemans, "Canto III"; Massey, "Love's Fairy-ring"; and Tennyson, "Guinevere".</ref> [[W. H. Cummings]] composed the cantata ''The Fairy Ring'', and [[William Butler Yeats]] wrote of them in ''[[The Land of Heart's Desire]]'' (1894).<ref>Skelton 181.</ref> ===Art=== Fairy circles have appeared in European artwork since at least the 18th century. For example, [[William Blake]] painted ''Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing'', depicting a scene from Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', around 1785,<ref>Silver 26.</ref> and [[Daniel Maclise]] painted ''Faun and the Fairies'' around 1834. Images of fairies dancing in circles became a favourite trope of [[fairy painting|painters]] in the Victorian period. On the one hand, artists were genuinely interested in the culture such imagery represented, and on the other, fairies could be depicted as titillating nudes and semi-nudes without offending [[Victorian morality|Victorian mores]], which made them a popular subject of art collectors. Examples of Victorian fairy-ring paintings include ''Come unto these Yellow Sands'' (1842) by [[Richard Dadd]] and ''Reconciliaion of Titania and Oberon'' (1847) by [[Joseph Noel Paton]].<ref>Silver 230, note 20.</ref> ===Modern=== Modern depictions continue in a similar vein. The [[MMORPG|online game]] ''[[RuneScape]]'' features a magical fairy-ring network used for transportation, and ''[[Ultima Online]]'' includes circles of mushrooms in several locations. The popularity of the [[garden gnome]] in England may be the most visible manifestation of the imprint of fairy-ring imagery on popular culture, as it links the fairy-like [[gnome]] with imagery of toadstools and mushrooms.<ref>Morgan 29.</ref> == Cropmarks == Fairy rings should not be confused with circular [[cropmark]]s. These are caused by the enhanced growth of grass or crops over buried archaeological features, particularly the infilled ditches of [[round barrow]]s or the foundation slots of [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]]. == Linear crop marks == Linear marks in fields carrying crops are called [[trod]]s in the western England. It is not clear what causes this phenomenon, characterised as it by a darker hue of green than the crop either side.<ref name="Pennick1996132">Pennick, Nigel (1996). ''Celtic Sacred Landscapes''. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01666-6. P. 132.</ref> == See also == {{commonscat|Fairy rings}} {{wikiversity-r}} * [[Fairy circle (Africa)]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== *Bennett, Margaret (1991). "Balquhidder Revisited: Fairylore in the Scottish Highlands, 1690–1990", ''The Good People: New Fairylore Essays''. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0939-6. *Bray, Mrs. (1854). ''A Peep at the Pixies; or, Legends of the West''. London: Grant and Griffith. *Briggs, Katherine M. (2002). ''British Folk-Tales and Legends''. Routledge. ISBN 0-4152-8602-6. *Briggs, Katherine M., and Ruth L. Tongue, eds. (1965). ''Folktales of England''. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-07493-5. *Cheviot, Andrew (1898). ''Proverbs, Proverbial Expressions, and Popular Rhymes of Scotland''. London: Alexander Gardner. *Cielo, Astra (1918). ''Signs, Omens and Superstitions''. New York City: George Sully & Company. *Croker, Thomas Crofton (1838). ''Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland'' v. 1-3. London: John Murray. *Daniels, Cora Linn, and C. M. Stevens, eds. (1903). ''Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World'', Vol. 3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: J. H. Yewdale & Sons Co. *Drayton, Michael (2002 [1627]). ''Nymphidia: The Court of Fairy''. Luminarium Editions. [http://www.luminarium.org/editions/nymphidia.htm Online version] accessed [[10 March]] [[2008]]. *Franklin, Anna (2002). ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies''. London: Paper Tiger. ISBN 1-84340-240-8. *Gwyndaf, Robin (1991). "Fairylore: Memorates and Legends from Welsh Oral Tradition", ''The Good People: New Fairylore Essays''. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0939-6. *Hall, Alaric (2007). ''Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity''. Rochester, New York: Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84383-294-2 *Hartland, Edwin Sidney (1891). ''The Science of Fairy Tales: An Inquiry into Fairy Mythology''. London: Walter Scott. *Hazlitt, W. Carew (1905). ''Faiths and Folklore: A Dictionary of National Beliefs, Superstitions and Popular Customs, Past and Current, with Their Classical and Foreign Analogues, Described and Illustrated'', Vol I. London: Reeves and Turner. *Keightley, Thomas (1905). ''The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries''. London: George Bell & Sons. *McPherson, J. M. (2003 [1929]). ''Primitive Beliefs in the Northeast of Scotland''. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0766163105. *Morgan, Adrian (1995). ''Toads and Toadstools: The Natural History, Folklore, and Cultural Oddities of a Strange Association''. Berkeley, California: Celestial Arts Publishing. ISBN 0-89087-777-7. *Paton, Lucy Allen (1970 [1903]). ''Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance'', 2nd ed. New York City: Burt Franklin. ISBN 0-8337-2683-8. *Pickering, David (1995). ''Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions''. London: Wellington House. ISBN 0-304-36561-0. *Radford, E., and M. A. Radford (1996 [1961]). ''The Encyclopedia of Superstitions'', revised and enlarged edition. Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN 0-7607-0228-4. *Rhys, John (1901). ''Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx'', Vol. I. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. *Ripley, George, and Charles A. Dana, eds. (1864). "Fairy Circle", ''The New American Cyclopædia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge'', Vol. VII. New York City: D. Appleton and Company. *Shakespeare, William (1993 [1600]). ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. ''The Tech''. [http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html Online version] accessed [[10 March]] [[2008]]. *Shakespeare, William (1993 [1623]). ''The Tempest''. ''The Tech''. [http://shakespeare.mit.edu/tempest/full.html Online version] accessed [[10 March]] [[2008]]. *Sikes, Wirt (1880). ''British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions''. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. *Silver, Carol G. (1999). ''Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512199-6. *{{cite book|title=Earth, Air, Fire, Water|last=Skelton| first=Robin|contributors= Margaret Blackwood| pages= p 181|publisher=Arkana, Penguin Group| year=1990}} *Trevelyan, Marie, and E. Sidney Hartland (2002 [1909]). ''Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales''. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-4254-9354-8. *Wilde, Lady (1902). ''Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland with Sketches of the Irish Past''. London: Chatto & Windus. ==External links== *[http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/FunFacts/ringsfct.htm Fairy Ring information] *[http://www.biggacentralsection.org.uk/pictures.htm Various pictures of Fairy ring in golf turf.] *[http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Marasmius_oreades.html ''Marasmius oreades'' from California Fungi] *[http://web.archive.org/web/20060303100712/http://www.uio.no/conferences/imc7/NFotm99/October99.htm ''Marasmius oreades'' as Norwegian fungus of the month, with ring photographs] - from [[webarchive]] [[Category:Fungal morphology and anatomy]] [[Category:Folklore]] [[cs:Čarodějné kruhy]] [[da:Heksering]] [[de:Hexenring]] [[es:Anillos de hadas]] [[fr:rond de sorcière]] [[nl:Heksenkring]] [[ja:菌輪]] [[ru:Ведьмины круги]] [[fi:Sienikehä]] [[sv:Häxring]]