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)
|
Cordyceps /ˈkɔːrdɪsɛps/ is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes about 750 species worldwide, 200 of these species are parasitic. Diverse variants of cordyceps have had more than 1,500 years of use in Chinese medicine.[1] Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi.[2]
The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the ancient Greek κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Latin -ceps, meaning "-headed".[3] The genus has a worldwide distribution, with most of the known species[4] being from Asia (Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand).