It’s an animal.

Cordyceps sinensis, also known as Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps sinensis, is a complex of the stroma and larvae corpses of the fungus Cordycrps sinensis (Berk.) Sacc.

Cordyceps sinensis mainly grows on forest meadows or lawns at high altitudes; due to soil quality, the color of Cordyceps sinensis in forest meadows is mainly dark yellow-brown, while that in grasslands is dark yellow-brown. Mainly yellow-brown; the former is mostly produced in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu, while the latter is mostly produced in Tibet and Qinghai.

Cordyceps sinensis is a traditional and valuable nourishing Chinese medicinal material. It is listed as one of the three major tonics along with natural ginseng and deer antler. It has mild medicinal properties and can be eaten all year round. It is suitable for the elderly, young, sick, weak and weak. It has wider medicinal value than other types of tonics.

Rough classification

Authentic Cordyceps sinensis can be divided into two types according to its growth environment, grassland Cordyceps in plateau meadows and alpine Cordyceps in high-altitude Yinshan canyons. Due to the growth environment and soil quality There are some differences in color and shape. Grassland Cordyceps is earthy yellow, with fat body and soft flesh; alpine Cordyceps is dark brown with plump and firm body. Because the grassland is a vast area and is the main producing area, this variety is mostly popular on the market. The sources of alpine Cordyceps are rare, but ancient medical books mostly record this kind of food. In terms of nutritional content, the two are almost the same, but no matter which one is natural, it loses its value once it is dyed or contaminated.

The growth of Cordyceps

Most people find the growth of Cordyceps mysterious and unpredictable. There was a poem by the predecessors: "Cordyceps sinensis lives up to its name, and changes to create a unified Qi. One thing. It’s hard to believe that it can be both an animal and a plant. “In fact, Cordyceps is a combination of insects and fungi. The worm is the larvae of the Cordyceps braiding moth, and the fungus is the Cordyceps fungus. In midsummer, when the ice and snow melt in the snowy mountain meadows above 3,800 meters above sea level, the tiny flower-bodied braiding moth leaves thousands of eggs behind. On the flowers and leaves. Then the moth eggs turn into small insects, which burrow into the moist and loose soil, absorb the nutrients from the roots of the plants, and gradually make the body white and fat. At this time, the spherical ascospores encounter the Cordyceps bat moth larvae and penetrate into the insect body, attracting their nutrients and germinating mycelium.

The larvae infected by the fungus gradually wriggle to a distance of two to three centimeters from the surface, and die with their heads and tails down. This is the "winter worm". Although the larvae dies, the fungus inside the body grows day by day until it fills the entire insect body. In the late spring and early summer of the following year, a purple-red grass grows from the head of the insect, about two to five centimeters high, with a pineapple-shaped capsule at the top. This is the "summer grass". Cordyceps is the most fully developed at this time and has the highest active ingredients in the body. It is the best season for collection. Diqing and Nujiang Prefectures in Yunnan Province are one of the main producing areas of Cordyceps in my country.

Harvesting and storage:

Every year between April and May of the lunar calendar, when the snow melts, it is the harvesting season of Cordyceps sinensis. At this time, the Cordyceps sinensis seedlings have not emerged more than one inch. At this time, the seedlings will die, other weeds will grow very fast, and there will be no trace of Cordyceps sinensis. When harvesting Cordyceps sinensis, remove the yellow wax coating and other impurities attached to the insect body, and dry it in the air or sun; The traditional packaging method is to tie 6 to 8 pieces into a small bundle (boy) with a small red rope.

The storage requirements of Cordyceps sinensis are not high. Generally speaking, as long as it is processed by normal drying methods in the production area and placed in a ventilated environment, it will not deteriorate or become moldy. If it is too humid, it can Consider packaging it in a sealed bag and storing it in the refrigerator.

Identification of traits:

Cordyceps sinensis is composed of two parts: the stroma and the insect body. The insect body is 4 to 6 cm long and has a yellow or yellow-brown surface. The color is produced in Yunnan and Sichuan. It is dark brown, with many transverse wrinkles on the back. There are 8 pairs of legs on the abdomen, 3 pairs near the head, 4 pairs on the abdomen, and 1 pair on the tail. The 4 pairs on the abdomen are more obvious. The insect body is light and brittle, easy to break, and the section is white. , slightly elastic; the peduncle grows from the head of the insect body, 4 to 7 cm in diameter, and the base covers the head of the insect body. It is long rod-shaped, thick at the top and thin at the bottom, grey-brown or dark brown, flexible in texture, cross-section Mostly hollow. It smells like straw mushroom and tastes sweet. There are 8 pairs of legs, 4 pairs in the middle are more obvious, brittle, easy to break, and yellowish white in cross section. The stroma is solitary, slender and cylindrical, 4 to 7 cm long and about 3 mm in diameter; the surface is dark brown to tan, with fine longitudinal wrinkles, the upper part is slightly enlarged, the texture is flexible, and the cross-section is off-white.

The smell is slightly fishy and the taste is slightly bitter. Insects with bright yellow color, plump and fat body, yellowish-white cross-section and short pedestal are better.

Active ingredients:

According to medical scientific analysis, Cordyceps contains cordyceps acid. Vitamin B12, fat, protein, etc. Cordyceps is sweet, mild and non-toxic. It is a well-known nourishing and strengthening medicine. It is commonly used as meat stew and has the effect of tonifying deficiency and strengthening the body. It is suitable for the treatment of hemoptysis, blood in sputum, and cough caused by lung qi deficiency, lung and kidney deficiency, tuberculosis, etc. It also has good effects on shortness of breath, night sweats, etc., and is also effective in treating kidney deficiency, impotence, waist and knee pain, etc. It is also a good tonic for the elderly and infirm.

The first recorded use of Cordyceps sinensis was in Wu Yiluo's "Ben Cao Cong Xin" in the Qing Dynasty. The book believed that Cordyceps sinensis is sweet and warm in nature and flavor. Function: nourishing the lungs and kidneys, resolving phlegm and relieving cough. It can be used for "deficiency" diseases such as chronic cough, deficiency and asthma, postpartum weakness, impotence and coldness. According to research: Cordyceps mainly contains cordycepin, cordycepic acid, adenosine and polysaccharides, and other ingredients; cordycepin can inhibit the growth of Streptococcus, Bacillus mallei, Bacillus anthracis and other bacteria, and is an anti-cancer active substance, which has a positive effect on the human endocrine system. It has a good regulating effect on the nervous system; cordycepic acid can change the human body's microcirculation, and has obvious effects of lowering blood lipids and relieving cough and expectoration; cordyceps polysaccharide is an immunomodulator and can enhance the body's resistance to viruses and parasites.