Introduction to Cordyceps - Wild and Cultured

What is cordyceps?

Cordyceps is a rare, extremely valuable type of mushroom. It is regarded as an exotic traditional medicine in China and started to penetrate the Western world only in the past twenty years. Through modern scientific research, the therapeutic miracles of cordyceps have finally been proven. In fact, traditional Chinese practitioners have recorded its potent medicinal and healing effects for centuries.

The legends and myths about the curative properties of this mushroom have been widely known since thousands of years ago. The first written record on cordyceps dated back to the year A.D. 620, during the reign of Tang Dynasty in China. During that period, this mushroom was considered a 'miracle creature', a name that signifies its remarkable transformation from an animal to a plant. Tibetan monks described cordyceps as an insect in winter that will metamorph into a plant in summer. In the old days, cordyceps was sold at very expensive prices; hence it was dubbed as a 'royal herb'. It is well-known for its effectiveness in treating diseases related to lungs, kidneys as well as sexual dysfunction.

Today, cordyceps mushroom is mainly sourced from China, especially from the Western province of Qinghai-Tibet and the High Plains of Yunnan-Guizhou. Approximately 60 out of 300 species of cordyceps in this world originate from China. One of the most popular species is Cordyceps Sinensis. In line with the advancement in biotechnology, cordyceps militaris or cultured cordyceps was born with the objective to deliver high nutritional values and thus, contribute significantly to health.

Cordyceps, known as "The Legend of Eastern Treasure" or "Winter Worm, Summer Grass" in Chinese, belongs to the family of mushrooms. Synonym with its name, cordyceps is indeed a caterpillar in winter that evolves into a grass during summer. There are two main reasons that contribute to the high nutritional contents of Cordyceps:
1. Concentrated food nutrients in larva during winter hibernation.
2. These densely-packed nutrients are then digested by fungal enzymes into a high proportion of active ingredients that are readily absorbed by the body.


This is a picture of wild cordyceps (Cordyceps Sinensis), the yellow, furry part is the worm, and the black, sharp part is the mushroom itself.


This is a picture of biotechnology cultured cordyceps (Cordyceps Militaris), where the worm isn't existent.

Any questions? Want to know more? Drop an email to cordywonder@gmail.com!

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