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Cordyceps

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes over 260 species worldwide, many of which are parasitic. Diverse variants of cordyceps have had more than 1,500 years of use in Chinese medicine. Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi.

The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the ancient Greek κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Latin -ceps, derived from Latin caput, meaning "head". The genus has a worldwide distribution, with most of the known species being from Asia.

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59 branches of this genus, most-observed first

Scarlet Caterpillar Club

speciesCordyceps militaris

Cordyceps tenuipes

speciesCordyceps tenuipes

Cordyceps sinclairii

speciesCordyceps sinclairii

Cordyceps cicadae

speciesCordyceps cicadae

Cordyceps cranstounii

speciesCordyceps cranstounii

Cordyceps farinosa

speciesCordyceps farinosa

Cordyceps nidus

complexCordyceps nidus

Fawn vegetable Caterpillar

speciesCordyceps hawkesii

Cordyceps meneristitis

speciesCordyceps meneristitis

Cordyceps mexicana

speciesCordyceps mexicana

Cordyceps cateniannulata

speciesCordyceps cateniannulata

Cordyceps fumosorosea

speciesCordyceps fumosorosea

Cordyceps sp. 'TL11464'

speciesCordyceps sp. 'TL11464'

Cordyceps nikkoensis

speciesCordyceps nikkoensis

Cordyceps sp. 'californica'

speciesCordyceps sp. 'californica'

Cordyceps pruinosa

speciesCordyceps pruinosa

Cordyceps bifusispora

speciesCordyceps bifusispora

Cordyceps memorabilis

speciesCordyceps memorabilis

Cordyceps sp. 'TN01'

speciesCordyceps sp. 'TN01'

Cordyceps myrmecogena

speciesCordyceps myrmecogena

Isaria friesii

speciesIsaria friesii

Cordyceps pleuricapitata

speciesCordyceps pleuricapitata

Cordyceps araneae

speciesCordyceps araneae

Cordyceps amoene-rosea

speciesCordyceps amoene-rosea

Cordyceps sp. 'IN02'

speciesCordyceps sp. 'IN02'

Cordyceps spegazzinii

speciesCordyceps spegazzinii

Cordyceps sp. 'PE01'

speciesCordyceps sp. 'PE01'

Cordyceps rosea

speciesCordyceps rosea

Cordyceps herculea

speciesCordyceps herculea

Cordyceps javanica

speciesCordyceps javanica

Cordyceps coleopterorum

speciesCordyceps coleopterorum

Cordyceps rubrostromata

speciesCordyceps rubrostromata

Cordyceps cuncunae

speciesCordyceps cuncunae

Cordyceps lateritia

speciesCordyceps lateritia

Cordyceps iriomoteana

speciesCordyceps iriomoteana

Cordyceps polycephala

speciesCordyceps polycephala

Cordyceps imagamiana

speciesCordyceps imagamiana

Isaria clavata

speciesIsaria clavata

Cordyceps olivascens

speciesCordyceps olivascens

Isaria psychidae

speciesIsaria psychidae

Cordyceps velutipes

speciesCordyceps velutipes

Cordyceps chaetoclavata

speciesCordyceps chaetoclavata

Cordyceps cocoonhinabita

speciesCordyceps cocoonhinabita

Cordyceps shuifuensis

speciesCordyceps shuifuensis

Cordyceps subtenuipes

speciesCordyceps subtenuipes

Cordyceps rubiginosistipitata

speciesCordyceps rubiginosistipitata

Cordyceps ovoideoperitheciata

speciesCordyceps ovoideoperitheciata

Cordyceps koratensis

speciesCordyceps koratensis

Cordyceps neopruinosa

speciesCordyceps neopruinosa

Cordyceps lepidopterorum

speciesCordyceps lepidopterorum

Cordyceps hehuanensis

speciesCordyceps hehuanensis

Cordyceps locastrae

speciesCordyceps locastrae

Cordyceps malleiformis

speciesCordyceps malleiformis

Cordyceps pseudorosea

speciesCordyceps pseudorosea

Cordyceps siangyangensis

speciesCordyceps siangyangensis

Cordyceps polyarthra

speciesCordyceps polyarthra

Cordyceps sp. 'PNW01'

speciesCordyceps sp. 'PNW01'

Phytocordyceps nunchikospora

speciesPhytocordyceps nunchikospora

Cordyceps ootakiensis

speciesCordyceps ootakiensis

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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In the old herbals & bestiaries

Illustrations of Fungi which Grow in Bavaria and the Palatinate around Ratisbon, Vols 1–2

Jacob Christian Schaeffer; C.H. Persoon (ed.) · 1800 · p.397

Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms

James Sowerby · 1797 · p.932

Illustrated Compendium of Materia Medica (Vol. 10)

吳其濬 · 1848 · p.64

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In the stacks

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Every page naming Cordyceps in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 58707.