What Is the Difference Between Cordyceps Flower and Cordyceps? A Breakdown of the Main Differences

Cordyceps flower and Cordyceps sound like they differ by just one character, yet one is worth its weight in gold while the other is affordable for every household. So what is the difference between Cordyceps flower and Cordyceps?

The scientific name of Cordyceps flower is Cordyceps mycelium, also known as Cordyceps militaris. Varieties are divided into fruiting bodies and spore heads. In appearance, Cordyceps flower has no “insect body”, only an orange or yellow “grass”. Cordyceps: its form is like an old silkworm, with a yellow-brown surface, many wrinkles on its back, and eight pairs of legs on its abdomen; its cross-section is white or slightly yellow, with a deep yellow rim; its body is six cm long and about three mm in diameter, much like a blade of grass.

Cordyceps: Cordyceps sinensis is entirely wild, growing on grassy slopes near the snow line above the alpine grassland and shrub belt at altitudes of 3000 m to 5000 m. It is mainly distributed in the high-altitude areas of around 4000 m in Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Gansu in China, and Cordyceps is also cultivated in the Jilin region of Northeast China.

Cordyceps flower: it is mainly cultivated artificially, and the culture medium imitates the various nutrients contained in natural Cordyceps, including grains, beans, eggs and milk, and so on; it belongs to a type of fungus. The optimum growth temperature for the mycelium is 15 to 25°C, and the optimum growth temperature for the stroma is 18 to 22°C. The cultivation room needs to maintain a certain temperature, humidity and air cleanliness.

Cordyceps flower contains very rich Cordyceps polysaccharides (including cordycepic acid), a variety of proteins, amino acids and vitamins. Research and testing by more than ten institutions in Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, the United States and domestically has proven that Cordyceps militaris can even become the most ideal substitute for traditional Cordyceps sinensis.