Cordyceps mushroom is one of the most prized immune modulating and energy enhancing adaptogens known in Chinese herbalism. It is native to high mountain regions of the Himalayas and has been used by the people of Tibet, Nepal and China for hundreds of years. The original wild version (Cordyceps sinensis), also called “caterpillar fungus”, is quite different than other types of medicinal mushrooms in that it germinates from the mummified body of various insects, growing as elongated blade-like mycelium rather than the usual mushroom cap varieties. There are some cordyceps varieties today that are produced using silk worm larvae, but most higher quality cordyceps mycelium extracts, powders and whole dried pieces that are being sold today are grown organically on brown rice substrate, not on caterpillars or other insect bodies. These cultivated versions are extremely concentrated, possessing close to the same health enhancing attributes as wild varieties because they are grown using wild spores, either of the Cordyceps militaris or Cs-4 sinensis species.