Liangshan Cordyceps

Liangshan Cordyceps

　　　[Source]

　　A dried composite of the stroma and the larval carcass formed by the fungus Liangshan Cordyceps Cordyceps liangshanensis Zang, Liu et Hu (Clavicipitaceae), which parasitizes the larva of Lepidoptera (Lepidoptera) insects.

　　[Description]

　　The larva resembles a silkworm, slightly curved, about 4 cm long and 5–9 mm in diameter; the surface is covered with brown to dark brown velvet, and where the velvet has fallen off, a purple-brown chitinous layer is visible, with 9–12 rings; the head is reddish-brown, and the abdomen has about 10 pairs of legs. The stroma is mostly branched or single, up to 30 cm long, cylindrical, brown or dark brown, with a sterile tip at the top. It is hard and brittle, easily broken, with a yellowish-white cross-section. It has a faint fishy smell and a mild taste.

　　[Identification]

　　The perithecial wall is superficial, protruding from the base of the stroma, oval-shaped, dark brown; the ascospores are thread-like with distinct septa; the mycelial membrane is yellowish-brown to dark brown, and the mycelium is mostly unbranched.