Habitat
This species is a parasite that grows from the buried larvae, pupae, or cocoons of moths and butterflies. Fruit bodies emerge from the ground, moss found at tree bases, leaf litter, or well-decayed wood, though they are always attached to an insect host beneath the surface. They typically occur solitary or in small clusters arising from a single host.
Photos
Appearance
- Fruit body
- A small, club-shaped or cylindrical structure reaching 0.5–7 cm in total height, typically bright orange to orange-red or pale orange.
- Head
- The upper fertile portion is slightly swollen, spindle-shaped to cylindrical, and 1–2 cm long. The surface is noticeably roughened or bumpy due to minute raised dots.
- Stem
- A slender and often wavy stalk measuring 0.5–4 cm long. It is typically paler than the head, ranging from whitish or ochre-yellow to pale orange, and tapers slightly toward the base where it attaches to a buried insect host.
- Flesh
- Thin and colored whitish to pale orange.
- Spore print
- Colorless or white in mass.
Sporecast is better in the app
Plan ahead with 10-day forecasts, see what people are finding nearby, get photo IDs, and track your finds.
Edibility
The flavor and odor of this species are indistinct. It can be confused with Trichoderma alutaceum, which is similar in appearance but grows directly on wood rather than insects and has a whiter stalk. Other lookalikes include Cordyceps capitata, which has a more rounded head, and Cordyceps cardinalis.
Misidentification can be fatal. Never eat a mushroom unless you're 100% sure. This information may be inaccurate. Always consult multiple sources.
Nutrient Source
ParasiticIt infects insects and their pupae, growing inside and consuming them for nutrients.
Common Names
- Danish
- Puppe-snyltekølle
- Dutch
- Rupsendoder
- English
- Scarlet Caterpillar Club, Scarlet Caterpillarclub, Scarlet Caterpillar Fungus
- Finnish
- punaloisikka
- French
- Cordyceps militaire
- German
- Orangegelbe Puppenkernkeule
- Norwegian Bokmål
- rød åmeklubbe
- Norwegian Nynorsk
- raud åmeklubbe
- Scottish Gaelic
- fungasan burras dearg, fungas burras dearg
- Swedish
- larvklubba, röd larvklubba
- Ukrainian
- Кордицепс військовий
- Welsh
- Pastwn Coch y Lindys
Synonyms
- Clavaria granulosa
- Clavaria militaris
- Clavaria squamosa
- Coralloides clavata
- Cordyceps militaris — Scarlet Caterpillar Club
- Cordyceps norvegica
- Cordylia militaris
- Cordylia militaris
- Corynesphaera militaris
- Hypoxylon militare
- Hypoxylon militaris
- Kentrosporium militare
- Kentrosporium militaris
- Sphaeria militaris
- Sphaeria militaris
- Torrubia militaris
- Xylaria militaris