Cordyceps
| Cordyceps | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Cordyceps militaris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Hypocreales |
| Family: | Cordycipitaceae |
| Genus: |
Cordyceps Fr. (1818) |
| Type species | |
|
Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr. (1818) |
|
| Species | |
|
about 400 |
|
about 400
Cordyceps /ˈkɔːrdəsɛps/ is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes about 400 species. All Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi. Until recently, the best known species of the genus was Cordyceps sinensis, first recorded as yartsa gunbu in Nyamnyi Dorje's 15th century Tibetan text An ocean of Aphrodisiacal Qualities. In 2007, nuclear DNA sampling revealed this species to be unrelated to most of the rest of the members of the genus; as a result it was renamed Ophiocordyceps sinensis and placed in a new family, the Ophiocordycipitaceae.
The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the Greek word kordyle, meaning "club", and the Latin stem -ceps, meaning "head". Several species of Cordyceps are considered to be medicinal mushrooms in classical Asian pharmacologies, such as that of traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicines.
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