Have you ever spotted a strange ring of grass in your yard? Maybe it's dead or unusually lush? Well, there's an interesting reason behind this!

Strange Circles in the Grass

Recently, an Indiana resident shared a post to the Indiana Nature group on Facebook asking about an odd ring of grass that had appeared in their yard.  In the photo the grass looks normal, it's a little bit dead because we are just coming out of winter, but otherwise, it looks like normal grass except for the circle... Not only was there a spot in this person's yard that had incredibly lush grass, but that particular spot was in a large ring creating a near-perfect circle of lush grass amid the dead grass.  You can see the photo here, it's wild! But what is causing it?

A Perfectly Normal, Albeit Weird, Phenomenon

Let's be honest, nature is a little weird and sometimes it does things that make us scratch our heads.  For instance, have you ever noticed your grass had a weird circle in one spot? Or have you ever seen mushrooms growing in a perfect circle?  It looks odd and it can be a bit unnerving.  However, there's a perfectly normal explanation for this weird phenomenon, it's a fairy ring.

What is a Fairy Ring?

The phrase "fairy ring" may have you picture a mythical creature with wings in the woods, but unfortunately, the kind of fairy ring we're talking about today isn't quite as magical.

According to the University of Wisconsin Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic:

Fairy rings are caused by certain fungi that feed on decaying organic matter (e.g., tree stumps, logs, leaves or roots) buried in the soil.  Growth of fairy ring fungi begins in the center of the ring, expanding outward in a relatively uniform, circular pattern.  Three different types of fairy rings can form depending on soil type, the specific fungus involved, and environmental conditions.

You can see the 3 different types of fairy rings, here. 

The Lore is Still Kind of Magical...and Spooky

Because fairy rings typically form a near-perfect circle, there are many superstitions throughout history about them. 

According to Foraging Course Company a common superstition about fairy rings was that you shouldn't step inside the ring, as something bad may then happen to you.

In Britain, and especially Wales, people were wary of stepping inside the rings, as it was rumoured the fairies would cause you to dance yourself to exhaustion or death. In The Tempest, Shakespeare recounted the folk belief that sheep were reluctant to graze within the circles of dead and lush grass fungus creates.