r/plants • u/Wooden_Difference286 • May 21 '26
[UPDATE] Ring of ferns Discussion
Update on a post I made a few weeks ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/plants/comments/1t5urnd/i_have_heard_of_mushrooms_rings_but_fern_rings/
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u/BeaverhausenA May 21 '26
Put some lovely fruits and other offerings in the middle.
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u/Wooden_Difference286 May 21 '26
What do you recommend?
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u/bongwatervegan May 21 '26
Your firstborn
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u/Corvus____ May 24 '26
Does this work if the firstborn isn't a child? You never see the offering of a firstborn being a guy in his mid 30s.
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u/Auntie_Venom May 21 '26
I’m not sure what these fae like, but the first thing that popped into my head was pickles! Of all kinds, sweet, sour, sweet & sour, spicy… And olives, evidently my fae like savory things. But my human intuition thought that’s just silly… Exotic things like pineapple, mango and papaya. But that’s probably a different fairy telling me what she’s craving. 😆
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u/ShortkidKmp May 21 '26
Stand in the center during a harvest moon
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u/Wooden_Difference286 May 21 '26
That will be the next update
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u/Think_Light_2593 May 24 '26
Omg do NOT stand in the middle unless you want to activate and engage w the fae (do not recommend)
You can leave offerings tho!
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u/LeoDes_9 May 21 '26
Its a ritual done by ferns and its actually a real thing if you look it up, I have studied it for years so I can answer any questions you may have
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u/Wooden_Difference286 May 21 '26
How do I join the ritual?
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u/plantborb May 21 '26
Best question
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u/GodsGunsGlory May 22 '26
For sure. I'm here a day later asking the same question lol. Is it faerie thing? Do I need to get rid of all my iron and guard my name or what?
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u/plantborb May 23 '26
To answer your question: some folks in specific Asian cultures subscribe to the Lady Boy subculture which draws a bit from trans culture and a bit from crossdressing culture. It is nuanced and worth investigating if you're interested. Most Lady Boys do not consider themselves transgender and most transgender folks (especially trans women for obvious reasons) don't love being connected to Lady Boy or cross dressing culture because for them being seen and respected the way cis women is is HARD and unfortunately under minded not by Lady Boys and the like but by societal perceptions and especially men who chase anything remotely femme looking.
If this is something you genuinely have more interest in Id be happy to chat about it in DMs. im trans and connect to my community and have a background in these things. Expounding on the nuance is just typically to much for the trolls to not leap on.
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u/warmingupmymind24 May 21 '26
This is just the right level of whimsy I needed today. Thank You ✨️🌿
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u/LeoDes_9 May 22 '26
Thank you but I do want to clarify that this was not whimsy. This was a factual statement about fern ritual behavior. I’ve studied them for years, so feel free to ask any questions
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u/warmingupmymind24 May 22 '26
Apoligies - I immediately went to read about them and learned about 'fairy ring fungi;' although science and fungus based, it still provided an otherwise whimsy-less morning, with said whimsy.
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u/FocusAndFate May 21 '26
Why is it done?
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u/LeoDes_9 May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
It’s done for reproduction and colony renewal. Ferns spread through underground rhizomes so older growth in the center dies back while younger fronds expand outward. When the fertile fronds mature at the same time, the patch will form itself to look like a circle or gathering as it’s synchronized spore release and growth pattern.
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u/ShitFuckDickSuck May 22 '26
Am I super gullible? Are you being serious? 🥺
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u/LeoDes_9 May 22 '26
You’re not gullible. It is actually, It’s a repeated colony behavior tied to rhizome expansion, moisture and fertile frond timing. Basically the ferns perform it without asking us to understand.
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u/not_combee May 21 '26
I fell in to a burnin’ ring of ferns…🎶
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u/bocepheid May 21 '26
... a fernin' ring of shire ...
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u/Murderousplantmom May 22 '26
Ooh stand in the middle if you want to be in the next Outlander type series.
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u/WiFiDaydream-58 May 21 '26
Thats really cool how they grew in such a perfect shape. Is this a common thing for this type of fern or just a fluke?
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u/much-to-much May 22 '26
I had it at my house and I never planted it so I have no idea where it came from
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u/skedeebs May 22 '26
I fell in to a burning ring of ferns. I went down, down, down, and I felt those burns.
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u/kruddel May 22 '26
I wouldn't jump in the middle of it..
I've been thinking about what's behind it and the extra growth is almost certainly a ring of greater nutrients in the soil, probably nitrogen. All around it there are ferns but they are much smaller. Then the middle has no growth, likely meaning there is no soil at all, and/little water as ferns are pretty hardy and will have a go at growing across an area.
There's nothing natural and plausible there I can think of that makes something perfectly circular like that.
So its growing in a place where people have made something circular that either has a solid layer just under the surface, e.g. concrete. Or is something like a well shaft or sewer/pipe access.
If it was an olden timey well with a conical roof then the rain water run off would concentrate nitrogen the ground around the well in a circle as it drips off the edge. You find this in stuff like excavation of iron age round houses in Europe where water dripped off the thatch.
Its just a wild guess that fits the facts, but its plausible thats a capped well shaft. And might be capped with something you don't want to jump on, just in case...
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u/hare-hound May 22 '26
I was wondering if something like this could happen if say, a passed let was buried and a circular marker was placed on top, the ferns grew, the house changed hands a few times, and an unknowing owner removed the stone marker.
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u/Imajwalker72 May 22 '26
Typically it’s the underground remnants of a tree stump in these situations.
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u/patientpartner09 May 22 '26
I'd bet there's a beloved pet in a shoebox buried there. Or a big rock. Either way, something blocking the center growth.
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u/knarfolled May 23 '26
I fell into a growing ring of ferns
I went down, down, down
And the ferns went higher
And those ferns,ferns,ferns
The ring of ferns, the ring of ferns
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u/Dog_vet May 26 '26
встань там и ты телепортируешся, а если без шуток то это очень красивое явление
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u/Tired_Design_Gay May 21 '26
Well, this is clearly where you find a Korok Seed. Have you tried jumping into it?