Fungalpedia – Note 1238, Cordyceps
Cordyceps Fr.
Citation when using this data: Hyde KD et al. 2020 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1
Classification: Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales, Hypocreomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Cordyceps was validly published by Link (1833) and given as the group name by Fries (1818) as Cordylia (Rogers 1954). Cordyceps includes about 564 species (Index Fungorum 2015) and was formally moved to Cordycipitoideae in 2007 (Sung et al. 2007). Sung et al. (2007) moved some species from Cordyceps to several genera including Ophiocordyceps (Ophiocordycipitaceae), Elaphocordyceps current name Tolypocladium (Ophiocordycipitaceae), Metacordyceps (Clavicipitaceae), Claviceps (Clavicipitaceae), Tyrannicordyceps (Clavicipitaceae), Epichloë (Clavicipitaceae), Podostroma (Hypocreaceae) and Podocrea (Hypocreaceae). Kepler et al. (2017) suppressed the names Isaria, Microhilum, Phytocordyceps and Evlachovaea in favour of Cordyceps. The genus infects insects and produces bright, stipitate, fleshy stromata, superficial to embedded perithecia, ascospores which break or do not break into part spores (Sung et al. 2007). The asexual morph of this genus produces evlachovaea-like, isaria-like, lecanicillium-like, mariannaea-like, simplicillium-like phialides or conidia (Sung et al. 2007). A specimen of Cordyceps militaris collected from China which shows the complete sexual and asexual characteristics is illustrated here.
Type species: Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Cordyceps.
Figure 1 – Cordyceps militaris (Material examined – CHINA, Province of Liao-Ning, on dead larva. 18 June 2014, Ting-Chi Wen TL2014091004, MFLU 15-3202). a Overview of stromata and host. b Host. c Yellow, half superficial ascomata on stroma. d Cross section showing the stroma and ascomata. e Ascomata. f Ostioles. g, h Asci. i Cap of ascus. j Part spores. k Conidiophores and developing conidia. l Conidia. m Culture from above on PDA medium after 40 days. n Culture from below on PDA medium after 40 days. Scale bars: d = 1000 µm, e = 500 µm, f = 100 µm, g, h = 200 µm, i, l = 5 µm, j, k = 10 µm, m-n = 2 cm..
References
Link HF. 1833 – Handbuch zur Erkennung der nutzbarsten und am häufigsten vorkommenden Gewächse 1–536.
Rogers DP. 1954 – The genus Cordyceps and Fries’s observationes. Mycologia 46, 248–253.
Entry by
Kevin David Hyde, Institute of Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510225, P.R. China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, Mushroom Research Foundation, 128 M.3 Ban Pa Deng T. Pa Pae, A. Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai 50150, Thailand, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand, Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, World Agroforestry Centre, East and Central Asia, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China
Published online 28 February 2020