animal, vegetable or mineral?
Actually, a bit of everything. Cordyceps is a fungus that attacks caterpillars and kills them. The fungus can live for 1000 years, some say, and is a tonic ingredient in tradtional Chinese medicine. It is also a huge industry in Tibet and surrounding areas and was selling for 900 yuan a small bunch in Yunnan. Inevitably, the industry attracts counterfeits and even up close it’s hard to tell the real from the fake. The ones made from coloured flour and water and stuck on sticks look just like the genuine article. That’s why you have to smell them – cordyceps has a seafood odor.
(The picture is from www.biobhutan.com. See them for all your cordyceps needs.)
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