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foragedfungus


Registered: 09/30/13
Posts: 1,849
Loc: out there
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Cordyceps
#22127308 - 08/22/15 02:32 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Cordyceps are a super interesting group of fungi. The way they parasitize insects and other fungi. The purported health benefits of some species. They are small and hard to see, but once you learn how to spot them, these things are a lot more common than I ever would have thought.
Elaphocordyceps ophioglossoides (growing from Elaphomyces)

Cordyceps militaris (growing from moth cocoons)
  This one I'm less sure about because I was unable to locate an insect host.

This one I need some help on an ID. It was so small, I could barely get an in focus picture. By the time I got home and tried examine it more, it had dried out so much and was so much smaller that I don't know what I'm even looking at. I think it's growing on some sort of insect larvae. But I really don't know. Perhaps someone with a microscope wants to look at it?
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kactus.brand.g
Registered: 08/22/14
Posts: 6,886
Last seen: 6 years, 10 months
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Very cool man
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foragedfungus


Registered: 09/30/13
Posts: 1,849
Loc: out there
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Found another one!
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MidnightCity
Apache Rose Peacock


Registered: 08/12/12
Posts: 4,053
Loc: Florida
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Badass fungi, thanks for sharing! 
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grabsjoker
Stranger

Registered: 09/10/12
Posts: 227
Loc: Boston, MA
Last seen: 3 years, 25 days
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Those are wild!!!
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


Registered: 06/12/09
Posts: 1,571
Loc: The Swamp
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arent those prized for medicinal uses?
I found some cordyceps capitatta once, they got all moldy before i could dehydrate them tho =(
 Those above...made me so sad when they rotted away.
Edited by TheShroomanizer (09/04/15 09:26 PM)
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foragedfungus


Registered: 09/30/13
Posts: 1,849
Loc: out there
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They are. " C. militaris are beneficial to act as pro-sexual, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant/anti-aging, anti-tumour/anti-cancer/anti-leukemic, anti-proliferative, anti-metastatic, immunomodulatory, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-protozoal, insecticidal, larvicidal, anti-fibrotic, steroidogenic, hypoglacaemic, hypolipidaemic, anti-angiogenetic, anti-diabetic, anti-HIV, anti-malarial, anti-fatigue, neuroprotective, liver-protective, reno-protective as well as pneumo-protective".
Did you dig those up and find the elaphomyces truffle they were growing from? According to the audubon field guide C .capitata are used by shamans in mexico for divining the future!
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


Registered: 06/12/09
Posts: 1,571
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I actualy didnt know what they were at first, i was doing yard work for some lady, and she had about 5 years of leaves in her yard. I was raking, and i kept finding them, so i spent half the day picking mushrooms....I later found that they thrive in LOW oxygen climates, which is why their so very rare...normaly at High altitudes. But now i know the secret to finding them where i live, Find places where water bottoms out, and leaves are piled high...much like where worms make their compost. And dig up the old rotton leaves, and whalla...cordyceps.
-------------------- Trading Prints -Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could listen twice as much as we speak-
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grabsjoker
Stranger

Registered: 09/10/12
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Dude, you're just one post away from a thousand!
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seahorse
Let the hunt begin...



Registered: 08/16/14
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Just wow! I'm fascinated by Cordyceps Where are you from? Just curious where did you find them 
Wonder what is this one
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RogerSmith

Registered: 01/29/15 
Posts: 365
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I'm glad you showed me this thread, I never check this forum.
Elaphomyces looks crazy. Those are different funghi that are attacked by cordyceps, right?
I would be cloning all cordyceps I would find, you can cultivate some of them artificially. It's a bit hard to get clean tissue from such thin mushrooms, but you can always try cloning the inside of the bug or maybe even elaphomyces?
Check out Isaria species so you don't miss them. They are related to cordyceps, some can be artificially cultivated as far as I know and they are also medicinal. They are less researched I think. But they look awesome, white and more complicated shapes.
Mushrooms that you find grow mostly around moss, right?
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


Registered: 06/12/09
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Eastern USA mid-Atlantic region. It was an incredibly rare find, and im sick about not taking the time to clone, or save them properly. When you say "Most mushrooms around moss" Not really, I find wood lovers around wood, manure lovers around manure, etc etc. HOWEVER moss is a good place to look for cordyceps IMO, because moss enjoys low oxygen climates, like many species of cordyceps. Morels are another mushroom that like low oxygen, from what I understand. I am dedicating this fall hunting season to make my mission to find cordyceps. I would much rather find Medicinal mushrooms over Active mushrooms any day. But thats just me, im fascinated by all fungi
-------------------- Trading Prints -Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could listen twice as much as we speak-
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foragedfungus


Registered: 09/30/13
Posts: 1,849
Loc: out there
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Quote:
seahorse said: Where are you from? Just curious where did you find them 
These were all found in upstate NY (US).
RogerSmith- Thanks for stopping by. Elaphomyces is a genus of underground puffball, "false truffle" fungi. I never would have found them if I didn't first find the cordyceps growing off of them.
I hadn't thought to even try cloning the ophioglossoides, but then I read "Cordyceps ophioglossoides which attacks false truffle mushrooms has been studied in Japan and found that it "may protect the A.BETA.-induced neuronal cell death and memory loss through free radical scavenging activity. These results further suggest that Cordyceps ophioglossoides mycelium may be valuable for the protection from Alzheimer's dementia."- http://www.mushroommountain.com/medicineandnutrition/cordyceps.asp
I have been trying to get a culture from The C. militaris. It has been difficult, My first 15 or so attempts all got crazy bacteria. They are really small and dry out super fast. When you peel the outside shell from the cocoon, the bug inside is completely covered in mycelium.
"Mushrooms that you find grow mostly around moss, right?" I think they grow wherever the caterpillar decided to do it's cocoon thing. I've seen them in decaying logs, in moss, in leaf litter, coming out of the ground in the middle of a trail in the woods.
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


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When you culture, have you tried cutting healthy mycelium away from the bacteria? or does the bacteria directly infect the healthy mycelium? What medium have you been using?
-------------------- Trading Prints -Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could listen twice as much as we speak-
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RogerSmith

Registered: 01/29/15 
Posts: 365
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Lol, 15 attempts. You know what is the problem with wild mushrooms many times? They get wet and bacteria get inside them, and than you wanna clone and the second day you check you see bacteria stain. But it is possible that mycelium may recover anyway so giv it some time. I thought I lost one petri last time because of bacteria but I decided to postpone throwing it out and mycelium recovered enough to be transfered to new dish, I was so glad because I really wanted to get dat culture. It help to throw pieces in hot agar. I also tried colonizing substrate with high ph instead of agar in dishes because I hoped mycelium would outrun bacteria. When I clone cordyceps I try finding the widest part, I break it there and try to scope tissue from inside, it actually work pretty well for me but my cordyceps doesn't grow outside.. Put cordyceps in plastic bag and it won't dry out 
And when I was asking about moss, I meant cordyceps, not other mushrooms. I should have been more specific.
Here's my dish containing fresh culture (it's also contaminated with trich )
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foragedfungus


Registered: 09/30/13
Posts: 1,849
Loc: out there
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The are all on PDA. 15 dishes from 3 fruits. The first few times I tried were all on day old fruits. They all grew bacteria before the cordyceps could even recover.
The one that looks like it's coming along well, I dug up a chunk of ground around it and brought the whole thing home. Worked on it that night. 5 out of 8 dishes have good looking growth.
Freshness is key. Here is the one from yesterday after 24hrs.
 They are so small, and get so much smaller so fast.... There is barely anything there to take a sample from.
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


Registered: 06/12/09
Posts: 1,571
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I would take a sample from the outermost part of that dish, furthest from the trich asap. That trich will explode, and spores will go all over if it hasent already.
-------------------- Trading Prints -Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could listen twice as much as we speak-
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Stewbid1
Susan Spores (Priestess)



Registered: 10/04/12
Posts: 114
Last seen: 2 months, 29 days
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I found some cordyceps militaris this past summer in central Pa. on the bank of a stream. I dug it up, including the bug, and ate the cordyceps (minus the bug portion). I ate 1 piece a day, every other day til it was gone. It gave me great energy and made me feel really healthy. The bug seems to have been mostly taken over by the fungus, so I'm wondering if there's any way I may cultivate some cordyceps from the bug (a moth I believe). Also, I see that some others have been finding them. Is there any particular terrain where they are found? Any type of tree to look for them near etc? Those I found were near the base of a maple, on a stream bed, growing next to some russulas. I have 3 pics of the ones I found.
-------------------- "It is no measure of good health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." ~TM
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Stewbid1
Susan Spores (Priestess)



Registered: 10/04/12
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Last seen: 2 months, 29 days
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Sorry for a second post, I forgot to say that I vacuum sealed the insect and have kept it in my refrigerator for about a month now. It still looks like it did the day I dug it up.
-------------------- "It is no measure of good health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." ~TM
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foragedfungus


Registered: 09/30/13
Posts: 1,849
Loc: out there
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Quote:
Stewbid1 said: 
Awesome! So you are saying you ate those 3 fruits over 6 days and felt noticeable effects? Did you just munch them down fresh/whole? or cook them? or in tea? extract? Do you think it was all the cordyceps? or some amount of placebo effect?
You should be able to cultivate them. You'll need agar. I had trouble getting a clone from any but the freshest specimen. if you have the bug in the fridge it may still be possible to get a viable sample. Only way you'll know is if you try!! (and the only way we'll know is if you post about it!!!)
I've found c. militaris in -leaf litter (mostly oak), under the dirt in a trail with pine trees around, coming out of decaying wood, and in moss. The only thing all of the habitats had in common is being near very wet areas. But that's the kind of habitat I'm always in, looking for mushrooms. So
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