Cordyceps: The Ancient Tonifying Herb

Cordyceps is called “dong chong xia cao” in Chinese, which literally translates as “winter worm, summer grass”. The fungus first infects the larva of a caterpillar in the summer. It grows inside the caterpillar and eventually fills the cavity of its body, turning it into stiff “worm” in winter. A grass-like shoot erupts from the head of the fungus in the following summer.