For decades they have intrigued ecologists and botanists: in several desert areas of Namibia, the little vegetation there is spreads out, creating circular patches on the ground, patches that, seen from the air, appear to be organized into hexagons. They are called fairy circles. A few years ago some were discovered very similar patterns in the western Australian desert, which added more intrigue to the matter. Now, Spanish researchers have complicated the mystery by discovering dozens and dozens of examples of this plant distribution. They all occur in arid areas where both water and nutrients are scarce. Circularity and hexagonal organization would be the optimal way that plants have found to survive.