fairy circle

plural fairy circles

1. A circular patch barren of vegetation, often encircled by a ring of stimulated grass growth, typically found in regions of arid grassland.

   Common in the arid grasslands of the Namib desert, particularly in Namibia, fairy circles were at first thought unique to that region; however, similar rings have been observed in a part of the Pilbara in Western Australia.

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   Danin and Orshan (1995) noted that the growth of the horizontal rhizome of Stipagrostis ciliata, a common species of fairy circles in both the Namib and Negev deserts, would naturally result in the formation of fairy circles over time.

   2016, David Ward, The Biology of Deserts, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, page 113

2. Synonym of fairy ring.

   Under that tree there is a fairy circle called The Dancing Place of the Goblin.

   1880, Wirt Sikes, British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, page 73

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   Then he explained how he entered the Fairy Circle, and how he was seized by them, but found their company so delightful that he thought he had been with them only for a few minutes.

   1911, Jonathan Ceredig Davies, Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales, page 109

   Synonyms: fairy ring