The Development of Cordyceps Agariciformia

Abstract

The members of the genus Cordyceps constitute a unique group of approximately two hundred species. With the exception of two species (Cordyceps agaricif ormia (Bolt.) Seaver and C. parasitica (Willd.) Seaver) which attack the hypogeous fruits of the fungus Elaphomyces, all these species occur as parasites on insects or spiders. Our knowledge of the biology of Cordyceps is essentially limited to early studies of entomogenous species (de Bary, 4, 5; Tulasne, 40; Sopp, 39; Atkinson, 1; Pettit, 36). These investigators con? fined their studies to a single stage in the cycle, principally the development of the perithecium and ascospores (Fisch, 15; Lewton-Brain, 29; Maire, 30) because they lacked sufhcierit material to study the entire cycle of development or because they were handicapped by the lack of suitable microtechnical methods. Re? cently, Varitchak (41, cf. also Varitchak, 42) contributed to our knowledge of the morphological and cytological development of one of the entomogenous species. Facts established from studies on supposedly closely allied genera (Vincens, 45; Killian, 25; Gaumanri, 17) have been employed as a means of arriving at an understanding of the genus Cordyceps. In the present investigation an attempt is made to follow the course of development, both morphological and cytological, of C. agaricif ormia from the period extending from the sclerotial stage to the maturation of the ascospores. There has been to date only one such investigation (Varitchak, 41) and since this work was