Friday, October 06, 2006

"Fairy Ring" of mushrooms

Life in Christian County, Kentucky... The Rural Life... More About Trees and Plants...



Fairy ring of mushrooms

After last week's heavy rains and this week's warm temperatures, a "fairy ring" of mushrooms sprang up in a pasture on the Moss Farm, a few miles west of us. Two partial rings of similar diameter have come up on another hillside nearby. They are probably growing in decayed hay and cattle manure, left from last winter.

From a distance, these look like meadow mushrooms. I didn't try to cross the farmer's electric fence and trespass in his pasture to find out for sure.

We ate meadow mushrooms when I was a child, and I think I would still be able to identify them. Years ago, I knew what characteristics distinguished them, and I don't think I've forgotten. It's been a long time since I've seen a meadow mushroom, though.

We have a mushroom that comes up in our yard after a rain, but they're strange looking brownish things. They look so unappetizing that I've never tried to use a field guide and identify them, let alone figure out if they're edible or not!

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Within the last two weeks, I have missed the opportunity to photo some big 4-6" topped mushrooms. These are repeat performers that have showed up in the same specific areas over the last four years. The "fairy ring" is easy for me to see... for the first time ever! Many Thanks, Ken

Genevieve Netz said...

The ring in that photo is the best and largest one I've ever seen, even though it has some gaps. I was really pleased to spot it, and I went back the next morning to photograph it because mushrooms are not forever!

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