Cordyceps Sinensis

Cordyceps Sinensis, also known as Cordyceps North America, Cordyceps Chrysanthemi, and Cordyceps Goldenseal, is an insect-parasitic fungus that usually grows parasitically in the larvae of Lepidoptera, but can be artificially cultured on grains. It is the type species of the genus Cordyceps and an edible mushroom. It is sometimes mistaken for Cordyceps sinensis, which was also once categorized in the genus Cordyceps.

Despite the similarity in name, Cordyceps flowers are not the flowers of Cordyceps, Cordyceps flowers do not have a mycelium, the two are different species, Cordyceps flowers are much cheaper, because of the price, the nature of the nature of the calm, not cold and not dry, can be used as a daily cramp dishes and tonic soup ingredients.

Wild Cordyceps is mainly produced in the alpine areas and snowy grasslands of Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang and western Sichuan. The total production of Cordyceps in Qinghai is the largest, but the quality of Cordyceps is the best in Arrow Furnace in Sichuan and Nagqu area of Tibet (including Ru County, Baqing County and Suo County), among which the body of Cordyceps in Nagqu, Tibet (located in the north of Tibet Autonomous Region) is yellowish and bright in color, plump and fat, with yellowish white fracture, and it is called the best among the top quality products.

Cordyceps sinensis is harvested from May to July every year. Cordyceps seedlings can be harvested when they have just grown an inch. The best quality is when the substrate (also known as the cotyledon, i.e. the head of the grass) is 4 to 11 centimeters long. The brownish Sichuan Cordyceps, which is smaller in size, is best harvested in May. Qinghai Cordyceps, which has a heavier aroma and is of medium size, is best harvested in June. As for the best quality Tibetan Cordyceps, it is the largest and fullest, with golden color, and July is the best time for harvesting.

The production of Cordyceps is small and unevenly distributed. Every day, the local collectors only find a few segments in the soil with great difficulty. With the help of simple tools, the collectors will carefully dig out the Cordyceps from the soil. The surface of the fresh Cordyceps is wet and covered with soil. After being cleaned from the soil, the herb is dried in the sun and is ready for use.

In “The Chinese Materia Medica from the New”, it is written that “Cordyceps sinensis tonifies the lungs and kidneys. It is sweet, neutral, protects the lungs, benefits the kidneys, stops bleeding, dissolves phlegm, and stops coughing from labor.” The compendium of materia medica also states that “Cordyceps sinensis is sweet in nature, flat in taste, enters the lung and kidney meridians, tonifying the lungs and benefiting the kidneys, stopping bleeding, resolving phlegm, and is used for prolonged coughing, wheezing, laborious coughing, spermatorrhea, and lumbar and knee pains”. As Cordyceps sinensis can be used for both medicinal and food purposes, and new pharmacological effects are constantly being discovered, it has been in short supply and doubled in price in recent years. At the same time, counterfeit products have been appearing in the market. Therefore, you should be careful when purchasing Cordyceps Sinensis! Purchase from reputable stores.

Cordyceps Sinensis is usually used in stews for medicinal or dietary purposes. In recent years, in order to meet the social demand for health food, there are also cases where the raw Cordyceps sinensis is ground into powder, which is convenient for daily consumption and saves the time of stewing.