This is a perfect thing to add to your shark fin and endangered tiger meat soup
National Geographic had a very interesting piece on this a few years ago: Tibet’s Golden “Worm”
There was a sequence showing the harvesting on the ‘Tibet’ episode of the BBC’s ‘Wild China’ series not long ago.
I am not sure I would eat the parasitic brain-devouring fungus, even if it gave me a woody.
If anyone has some capital lying around and wants to start a cordyceps farm get at me so we can make some of that 土豪 money.
Ah yes, the earliest form of false advertising: It looks like a dick, therefore it must be good for dicks.
Hey, that is the title of my third favorite hentai collection!
These look like a type of cordyceps. I take them when I go hiking. They really do help with what feels like oxygen uptake, but I read that it’s actually related to ATP in the body. So you can take these, or just use creatine, but I’ve had good luck with cordyceps. They’re also a lot more affordable if you get them from Washington: http://www.hostdefense.com/cordyceps
[picks up phone]
“Norm! Sell all my shares of Tibetan Viagra Mushroom Corp! Pronto! I’m cashing in!”
Is it because it’s phallus shaped? From my understanding that’s about as sophisticated as Chinese medicine gets.
Yeah, I’d be afraid of eating some all new, human-compatible mutation of the parasite.
As long as its cultivation isn’t as environmentally destructive as hunting large animals to extinction (and it’s hard to imagine anything that would be), I say promote the heck out of it.
Of course, it would be even more ideal to promote scientific thinking and/or acceptance of senescence, but let’s not go crazy.
People were worrying back in 2008 that the exploitation of Tibet’s resources would strip the mountains bare of Cordyceps. I’m surprised there’s any left. Perhaps the supply is reduced to the stockpile, hence the soaring price.
The problem is that the trade is so lucrative, nomads and other rural workers turn to it rather than their long time trades. It is fine while the fad continues and they are making money, but when the bubble bursts (when nobody wants to buy the fancy tulips any more), they are in big trouble.
Speaking of promoting scientific thinking, I don’t believe the image in this article is actually of caterpillar fungus.
The image is Cordyceps militaris.
Interesting site with lots of info.
http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat13/sub83/entry-2774.html
Nothing but good can come of this!
Plus the, you know, the hiking boners.
