Cordyceps: The world's most expensive mushroom grows on caterpillars

Wild Ophiocordyceps sinensis (a fungus that parasitizes ghost moth caterpillars at 3,000-5,000m in the Tibetan Plateau) costs $20,000-50,000/kg. What consumers actually buy is cultivated Cordyceps militaris, a different species grown on grain substrate. The "cordyceps" on the label has almost nothing to do with the caterpillar fungus of traditional Chinese medicine. The name carries the heritage; the product is a modern cultivation innovation.Publications of interest:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29752731/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92758/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3924981/