Cordyceps militaris - Scarlet Caterpillarclub

Cordyceps militaris – Scarlet Caterpillarclub

Taxonomy

Phylum: Ascomycota

Class: Sordariomycetes

Order: Hypocreales

Family: Clavicipitaceae

The Scarlet Caterpillarclub is found mainly in grassland and on woodland edges but also occasionally pushing up through bare soil during late summer and autumn. Restricted to a very specific habitat – underground larvae of moths – this ascomycete parasitises and kills its host, turning it into a mushy mess and then pushing up through the turf as a bright orange club. In China related species are highly prized as edible fungi and are used to make soup. All sorts of performance enhancing properties (sporting and otherwise) are claimed for treatments based on Cordyceps fungi.

Some Cordyceps species attack ants and other kinds of insects, while others parasitise certain kinds of fungi such as puffballs. Of at least a dozen Cordyceps species recorded in the British Isles, Cordyceps Militaris, the Scarlet Caterpillarclub, is the most common.

Identification Guide

Description

0.5 to 4cm long and 2 to 4mm dia., the fertile head is bright orange or scarlet-orange; club-shaped and slightly swollen; rarely branching; granular, covered in raised pores.

The infertile stem is 1 to 3cm long and 1 to 1.5mm dia., usually somewhat wavy; paler orange than the fertile head.

Spores

White or cream.

Habitat

Always attached to a moth pupa below the ground.

Season

Summer and autumn .

Occurrence

Fairly common but difficult to spot because this club fungus is usually much shorter than the grass or moss among which it is growing.