Qinghai Caterpillar Fungus

Qinghai Caterpillar Fungus

　　Cordyceps sinensis, a precious traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is commonly referred to as “caterpillar fungus.” It belongs to a type of fungus (see Clavicipitaceae family) that parasitizes the larvae of ghost moths.

　　 The parasitized larva hibernates beneath the permafrost layer and is called the winter worm. Eventually, the fungus kills the larva as it grows through its entire body. In summer, a long, slender, stalked fruiting body (the stroma) emerges from the head or neck of the dead larva, extending above the soil surface and resembling a small grass blade—this is known as the summer grass. The combination of the dead larva and the fungal stroma is called caterpillar fungus (see illustration).

　　 There are 26 species of this fungus in China, with 24 known to parasitize insects. Host insects include those from the Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Homoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Isoptera, Orthoptera orders, and even spiders, but the most prized are those that parasitize the larvae of the ghost moth (Thitarodes), particularly those from the Lepidoptera order. The larval host plant is the underground stem of Polygonum viviparum. It mostly grows on grasslands. This fungus is produced in China's Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet provinces and regions.

　　 As early as the 18th century, China began using caterpillar fungus as medicine. The dried stroma and larva are used medicinally. It is warm in nature and sweet in taste, and is believed to have benefits such as nourishing lung and kidney function, enriching essence, stopping bleeding, and resolving phlegm. It is mainly used to treat consumptive cough with blood, impotence, spermatorrhea, and soreness in the lower back and knees. Among caterpillar fungi, those from Yushu and Guoluo prefectures in Qinghai Province are considered the finest quality.