Cordyceps are found all over the world, but are most commonly found in Asia, with the highest density of species found in tropical rain forests. The traditional Cordyceps Sinensis grows naturally on caterpillars high in the mountains of China.
Where does the cordyceps fungus live?
The genus has a worldwide distribution and most of the approximately 600 species that have been described are from Asia (notably Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand ). Cordyceps species are particularly abundant and diverse in humid temperate and tropical forests.
What is a Cordyceps mushroom?
Cordyceps is a mushroom that is EXPLODING in popularity in the United States for both cultivation and consumption. Cordyceps cultivation methods are diverse, in this post we walk through one method of cordyceps cultivation. More and more cordyceps can be found as a supplement in coops and other grocery stores.
What type of fungi is Cordyceps?
Cordyceps /ˈkɔːrdɪsɛps/ is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes about 400 species. 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 Cordyceps fruiting body is actually known as an “ ascocarp ”- but for our purposes, we can just refer to it as a mushroom ! It is usually a long skinny fruiting body extending from the host, but can also be club-shaped. Cordyceps mushrooms are parasitic, meaning that they need a living host which will eventually be killed by the fungus.
This is a fungus that infects insects and arthropods. Oh, but this isn’t just any kind of fungus., and it’s special. This one attacks a host, replaces its tissue, and sprouts ominous stems that grow outside of its body. These stems eventually release spores into the air, infecting other hosts.
Is Cordyceps fungus in the last of US 2?
The Cordyceps fungus is depicted as a core plot element in the video games The Last of Us (2013), The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014), and The Last of Us Part II (2020), in which a mutated form of the fungus infects humans and causes the collapse of civilization.
This one attacks a host, replaces its tissue, and sprouts ominous stems that grow outside of its body. These stems eventually release spores into the air, infecting other hosts. What’s even more interesting is that there are many different Cordyceps species, each for a separate species of insect. Ants have it particularly bad.
Where do mushrooms come from?
They can be found nearly anywhere, from Australia to Japan, from the United States to China. Cordyceps militaris is a more commonly found mushroom, and this is the supplement that is most readily available on the market. This mushroom is far easier to cultivate for farming purposes.