Cordyceps militaris
| Cordyceps militaris | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Sordariomycetes |
| Order: | Hypocreales |
| Family: | Cordycipitaceae |
| Genus: | Cordyceps |
| Species: | C. militaris |
| Binomial name | |
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Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr. (1818) |
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Cordyceps militaris is a species of fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae, and the type species of the genus Cordyceps. It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Clavaria militaris.
The fungus forms 20-50 mm high, club-shaped and orange/red fruiting bodies, which grow out of dead underground pupae. The club is covered with the stroma, into which the actual fruit bodies, the perithecia, are inserted. The surface appears roughly punctured. The inner fungal tissue, is whitish to pale orange.
The spores are smooth, hyaline, long-filiform, and often septate. They decompose to maturity in 3-7 μm × 1-1.2 μm subpores. The asci are long and cylindrical. Sometimes an anamorphic state, which is Isaria, is found. Masses of white mycelia form around the parasitised insect; however, these may not be of the same species.
The fungus lives on pupae of different large butterflies, rarely also on caterpillars. Many authors consider it quite common, spread throughout the northern hemisphere, and fruiting bodies appear in Europe from August to November.
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Wikipedia