What is the difference between cordyceps and white grass? A quick guide to telling the two apart

White grass is also a type of cordyceps. Its surface is grayish-white or light brown, mostly covered with a white powdery bloom. The head, feet and each segment are clearly distinguishable. The body is often tangled with silk-like filaments. The head is yellowish-brown and roughly round. Generally speaking, elevations of 3800 m-4400 m produce white grass, and the worm body is on the whiter side; 4400 m-4900 m produces yellow grass.

I. Introduction to white cordyceps

White cordyceps is cylindrical, mostly curved and shriveled. It is about 2-5 cm long and 4-7 mm in diameter. Its surface is grayish-white or light brown, mostly covered with a white powdery bloom. The head, feet and each segment are clearly distinguishable. The body is often tangled with silk-like filaments. The head is yellowish-brown and roughly round. There are 8 pairs of feet, appearing as protrusions. It is hard and brittle, breaking easily; the broken surface is flat, varying in color from brown to black, mostly shiny, with a white outer layer that appears powdery, and 4 brown shiny rings inside. It tastes slightly salty. The best quality is straight, plump and sturdy, firm in texture, white in color and with a shiny broken surface. White cordyceps is rich in active silk fibroin, vitamins, protein amino acids and trace elements.

II. The historical legend of white grass

In Tibet there is a legend about white cordyceps. It is said that in ancient times, one spring a heavy snowstorm sealed the mountains. The herders had already eaten up their stored grain and forage, and the new forage had only just sprouted. The starving herders and livestock wailed, and it looked as though they would starve to death. Then the Buddha appeared and turned all the tender yellow grass sprouts on the ground into white grass. After the herders and livestock ate it, they found that a few pieces could keep them from hunger all day, and the herders survived the snow disaster by relying on this white grass. This white grass is white cordyceps. In Tibet it is called the divinely bestowed sacred grass, and together with the white yak it is revered as one of the two great sacred beings of Tibet.

III. Identifying cordyceps

Cordyceps sinensis is composed of the worm body and the stroma. High-quality Cordyceps sinensis is judged best when it is complete, the worm body is plump and large, yellow and bright in color, the broken surface is solid and white, and the stroma is thick and short.

1. Worm body: slender cylindrical, the worm body resembling a silkworm, 3-5 cm long, 0.3-0.8 cm in diameter; the surface is grayish-white or light brown, the head is reddish-brown; the back has 20-30 ring lines, and the ring lines near the head are finer; the abdomen has 8 pairs of feet (3 at the head, 1 at the tail, and 4 pairs in the middle that are more obvious); brittle, breaking easily, the broken surface slightly flat and pale yellowish-white.

2. Stroma: also called the grass head. The stroma is slender cylindrical, 4-7 cm long, about 0.3 cm in diameter; the surface is dark brown to brownish-brown, with fine longitudinal wrinkles, and the upper part is slightly swollen; it is supple and tough, and the broken surface is off-white. The odor is slightly fishy and the taste slightly bitter.