1. 'The Tibetan treasure'
Cordyceps sinensis grows naturally on the Tibetan plateau and has been collected for centuries in China, Bhutan and Nepal, where it is a valuable source of income for local communities.
2. Worth more than its weight in gold
The Economist has reported that wild Cordyceps can be worth more than its weight in gold, and a 2008 Los Angeles Times report described Tibetan collectors earning up to a thousand dollars a week.
3. 'Winter insect, summer grass'
In Asia it is known by this poetic name. In summer, its spores infect moth caterpillars in Himalayan pastures above 3,800 m; in winter the mycelium develops inside the buried larva; and in spring a long, thin fruiting body emerges towards the light.
4. Two parts
A single wild specimen may be up to 4 cm long and weigh 300–500 mg, with a brown stroma and the orange body of the caterpillar.
5. Many names
- Yarsa gumba (Tibet)
- Keeda ghas and Jeevan buti (Nepal)
- Dong chong xia cao (China)
- Tochukaso (Japan)
6. The yak legend
According to Tibetan tradition, herders noticed that their yaks, goats and sheep seemed livelier after grazing on a 'brown grass' in spring – later identified as Cordyceps.
7. Historic references
Cordyceps appears in the 18th-century Chinese compendium Ben Cao Cong Xin. In the West, the French Jesuit historian Du Halde was one of the first to write about it.
8. A widely studied species
More than 2,000 scientific papers on Cordyceps sinensis have been published since the 1980s, covering its biology, cultivation and composition.
9. Characteristic compounds
Cordyceps naturally contains cordycepic acid (mannitol), galactomannan, ergosterol (a precursor of vitamin D2), adenosine, cordycepin, amino acids and minerals.
10. Sustainable cultivation
Because wild Cordyceps is scarce and overharvested, we produce our Cordyceps as mycelium in bioreactors from Tibetan strains – a controlled, sustainable and traceable source.