Caterpillar Fungus: The Viagra Of The Himalayas : NPR
But that’s nothing compared to a rare Asian fungus that sells for $50,000 a pound.
In English, it’s called caterpillar fungus. But it’s better known throughout Asia by the Tibetan term, yartsa gunbu, which means “summer grass, winter worm.”
Britt Bunyard, a professor at the University of Wisconsin and editor of Fungi Magazine, explains that this fungi (Cordyceps Sinensis) makes its living by getting inside a host insect and ultimately killing and consuming it. In this case, the insect that’s invaded is the caterpillar of the ghost moth.
“This caterpillar will bury itself down a couple inches into the soil. Meanwhile it doesn’t know it, but this fungus is digesting it from within and then in the spring this … tissue erupts out the head.”
It may sound gross, but he says this pinky-sized mummified caterpillar is the most expensive fungi in the world.
“The price doesn’t compare to other fungi; the price compares to things like gold and platinum and diamonds.”
So what makes it so pricy? Well, it’s also known as the Viagra of the Himalayas.