Cordyceps

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) with about 400 species. Most Cordyceps species are parasitoids. They live on and in insects and other arthropods. A few are parasitic on other fungi. The name Cordyceps is taken from the Greek word κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Latin stem -ceps, meaning "head".

Cordyceps
Cordyceps militaris
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Sordariomycetes
Order:	Hypocreales
Family:	Cordycipitaceae
Genus:	Cordyceps Fr. (1818)
Type species
Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr. (1818)
Species[1]
List of species Cordyceps acridophila Cordyceps albocitrina Cordyceps amoene -rosea Cordyceps ampullacea Cordyceps bifusispora Cordyceps blackwelliae Cordyceps brasiliensis Cordyceps cateniannulata Cordyceps cateniobliqua Cordyceps chiangdaoensis Cordyceps cicadae Cordyceps coccidioperitheciata Cordyceps coleopterorum Cordyceps confragosa Cordyceps cuncunae Cordyceps cylindrica Cordyceps farinosa Cordyceps fratricida Cordyceps fumosorosea Cordyceps ghanensis Cordyceps grylli Cordyceps guangdongensis Cordyceps gunnii Cordyceps gunnii var. minor Cordyceps henleyae Cordyceps hepialidicola Cordyceps hesleri Cordyceps ignota Cordyceps imagamiana Cordyceps isarioides Cordyceps javanica Cordyceps kirkii Cordyceps koreana Cordyceps kurijimeansis Cordyceps kyushuensis Cordyceps lepidopterorum Cordyceps locusticola Cordyceps locustiphila Cordyceps memorabilis Cordyceps militaris Cordyceps morakotii Cordyceps nakazawai Cordyceps nidus Cordyceps ninchukispora Cordyceps ningxiaensis Cordyceps nirtolii Cordyceps ochraceostromata Cordyceps pleuricapitata Cordyceps polyarthra Cordyceps poprawskii Cordyceps pruinosa Cordyceps pseudonelumboides Cordyceps rosea Cordyceps roseostromata Cordyceps scarabaeucika Cordyceps sinensis See Ophiocordyceps sinensis. Cordyceps spegazzinii Cordyceps sphingum Cordyceps submilitaris Cordyceps taishanensis Cordyceps takaomontana Cordyceps tenuipes Cordyceps unilateralis See Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.

The genus has a worldwide distribution. Most of the 400 species which have been described come from Asia Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand.^[2] Cordyceps species are particularly abundant and diverse in humid temperate and tropical forests.

Ascomycete life cycle

A member of the genus Cordyceps which is parasitic on arthropods. Note the elongated stromata